


Indigo Rain

by MysteryGirl22



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: AU, Band, F/M, Friendship, Healing, Romance, The Past, rework
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-04-19 18:18:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 139,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14243049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysteryGirl22/pseuds/MysteryGirl22
Summary: The past doesn't like to stay buried, and when it finally does claw its way out, you had better be prepared for one hell of a fight. (This is a combined rework of "Just Another Night in the Band" and "A Lover's Dozen", not a new story, just letting you all know!)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Reading through JANitB made me realize just how many continuity errors there are, so I've decided to see if I could fix them with this little project. That, and I need a break from coming up with new stuff for Cruise Liner. There will be some changes and new content, but it's still the same basic story.

~~**Part I** ~~

_“You never belonged here.”_

_“Get the hell out!”_

_“They only let you stay because they feel sorry for you!”_

_“Why won’t you just die already?!”_

_“Nicky? Nicky!”_

I tore away from the dream, the scream catching in my throat when I realized I was being held down. My heart was pounding, my head and body aching, but it didn’t stop me from fighting, broken shouts blurring together with the blood raging in my ears. I couldn’t tell if I was awake or still dreaming, but I knew I had to escape, to get away from that hell. I threw myself forward, only to realize my wrists had been strapped down.

Oh God no…

_“Nick!”_

No, I couldn’t go through that again!

“Nick!”

Someone grabbed my shoulders, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake them off. It felt like I was choking as I fought to catch my breath, my vision finally clearing up. I blinked away the last of the glare, seeing a light-maned lion staring down at me, his eyes wide and freaked. Ed Sabor, head of my security detail.

“About time you came out of it,” he was panting. “I’ve been trying to wake you up for almost an hour!”

I turned away, clenching my jaw as I squeezed my eyes shut. I shoved that old fear down, so far it was like it didn’t even exist. But it always would, no matter how hard I tried. I finally caught my breath, looking down to see my wrists were tied with soft restraints to the metal rails of a hospital bed. I uncurled my fists, watching the blood start to well in my palms where my claws had torn into the pads. I laid back, watching as Ed took out his phone and started tapping away at it.

“W-What happened?” I coughed, my throat raw and scratched. He looked at me, hesitating before turning his phone toward me. I wished I could say I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

_‘Concert Shut Down as Drummer Goes Crazy!’_

The picture under that blaring red headline was kind of blurry, but still clearly showed a black-maned lion crouching in front of a drum set, his mouth gaping in a roar. It echoed in my head, dragging me right back to that night.

_“We’re glitching out this shattered system,” I pulled away from the mic, flashing a grin that sent half the audience screaming in a whole new way. “Survival’s now become our mission!”_

_The music cut off when something crashed behind us. We turned to see Trevor writhing around by his kit, clawing at his vest, ripping chunks of hair from his mane. I felt myself freeze as he climbed slowly to all fours, snarling and growling, teeth and claws flashing in the lights. That mindless glare locked on me, rooted to the spot with the mic still clenched in my fist. My eyes darted to it, my locked-up mind spitting out the only plan it could._

_I slammed the mic against the stage, feedback blasting from the speakers. I didn’t even have time to cover my ears before he leapt at me, and I barely managed to throw myself to the side, forced to watch as he batted at his face, snarling in pain. What the hell was going on with him? Why was he acting like this?_

_“Nick, move!”_

I gasped, staring blankly ahead as I forced the memory back, feeling tears start to seep through my fur.

“I-Is everyone okay?” I finally managed, my voice low. “H-How long has it been?”

Ed sighed.

“We managed to stop Trevor before he caused too much damage,” he explained. “But a speaker fell when he crashed into it, and you ended up under it, you’ve been out of it for two days.”

I glanced sidelong at him, knew from his tone that wasn’t the whole story. I wouldn’t be restrained like this if I had just been out cold. But before I could ask, could confirm what I was sure had really happened, someone knocked on the door. Ed got up and let a wolf in, as white as his lab coat.

“Visiting hours are over in twenty minutes,” he said, then turned to me. “The police are here to speak with you, Wilde.”

“Me?” I tugged at my restraints. No way was I going to let a cop see me like this, not again. “Just untie me first, and I’ll do whatever you want.”

I could tell he didn’t like the idea, but he nodded, looking his shoulder and murmuring something to whoever was behind him. He closed the door, walked to the bed and untied me; I pulled my paws to my chest, shivering as I pushed a new wave of the past away.

“Okay,” I swallowed, finally getting ahold of myself. “Let them in.”

He nodded again, holding the door open before stepping out. I glanced at Ed, biting back a gasp when a gray and blue flash landed at the foot of the bed.

“Hello, I’m Officer Judy Hopps of the ZPD, Precinct One, I’m here to ask you some questions about…”

The rabbit trailed off, her eyes widening as her mouth dropped open.

“Oh, sweet cheese and crackers,” she started. “You’re Nick Wilde!”

* * *

I blinked, I couldn’t have just heard that right. A bunny at the ZPD, seriously? I shook my head, unable to hold back a laugh.

“That’s rich, Carrots,” I chuckled again. “Seriously, where’s the cop I’m supposed to talk to?”

She huffed, walking up to me and stabbing a tiny finger in my chest.

“I _am_ the officer you’re supposed to talk to,” she said. “And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call me Carrots.”

I smirked.

“Oh, so sorry, Officer,” I said mockingly, leaning forward until my muzzle brushed hers. “Maybe I should call you cute instead? Because a stuffed animal’s all I see when I look at you.”

Her big eyes narrowed, and she stepped back, straightening out her uniform.

“Don’t call me cute,” she said evenly. “Unless you’re okay with being called shifty, or how about untrustworthy?”

I scoffed.

“Call me whatever you want, sweetheart,” I sat back, putting my paws behind my head. It hurt, a lot, but I wasn’t about to let her know that. “I won’t be able to take it seriously.”

She huffed again, crossing her arms as her foot started thumping on the bed. Then she threw her arms down, walking back to me and plopping down next to me.

“Then maybe you’ll take this seriously,” she leaned closer, her nose less than an inch from my ear. “Nicolas Wilde, you’re under arrest.”

“What?!” I glared at her. “What the hell for?”

She sat back, taking a notepad and plastic carrot pen from her belt. Seriously?

“Harassing an officer, to start with,” she tapped the pen against her cheek. “I’ll also tack on disturbing the peace while I’m at it.”

“‘Disturbing the peace’?!” I sat bolt upright, the fur on my neck standing on end. “I’ve been unconscious for the last two days, rabbit, how the hell could I have disturbed anyone’s peace?!”

She flashed a smug little grin, then slowly shook her head.

“That’s not what I’ve heard around here, fox,” she said, then flipped through her notebook. “According to several of the mammals I’ve already talked to, you’ve spent the last two days going in and out of screaming fits. You were also often violent to the point they had to both restrain _and_ tranquilize you to keep you down.”

I knew from the smirk on her face that my jaw had dropped, and I turned to Ed, who looked about as scared as a lion could of a fox.

“Amazing how all that slipped your mind, Ed,” the words were tinged with a growl I was barely keeping back. The bunny chuckled.

“Now, don’t go blaming him,” she went back to the page she’d been on. “And unless you _do_ want to deal with those charges, I suggest you tell me what I came to find out.”

I felt my claws dig into my palms again, almost tearing off the scabs.

“Go ahead and ask your damn questions,” I snapped at her. “Then get the hell out.”

She hopped to her feet, throwing up a paw in a mock salute.

“Yes, sir!”

I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t stop myself from laughing a bit. She was a character, I’d give her that much. She smiled, putting pen to paper as she sat back down.

“Now, did you notice anything strange before your drummer went crazy?”

I shook my head.

“No, everything went just like it usually did, I have no idea how this could’ve happened…”

* * *

 “Just one last question, Slick,” she flipped to a fresh page. I groaned, falling back. She’d been here for an hour already, and had even given me my own stupid nickname.

“I already told you everything I can, Carrots,” I said for probably the hundredth time in the last twenty minutes. “The concert started without a hitch, then in the middle of our last song, Trevor falls over, writhes around by his kit, then by the time he gets up he’s completely insane. Thousands of mammals saw it, so why don’t you go piss some of them off?”

“Trust me, I’d love to,” she didn’t miss a beat, smirking at me over her notepad. “But I think most of them were either distracted by your little acrobatics show, or were too busy screaming and running for the exits.”

I scoffed.

“That ‘little acrobatics show’ was us trying to keep Trevor contained,” I corrected her. “We would’ve been screwed if he’d gotten into the audience!”

She nodded, looking back through her notes.

“According to your security detail, no one else in the band was hurt besides you and Trevor, they had to tranq him six times before he finally went down.”

I shook my head.

“I don’t remember anything between that speaker falling on me and waking up in here,” I crossed my arms. “So if you want to know anything else, you’ll have to talk to Paul or Mercy.”

“We’ve already talked to them,” she flipped the pad closed. “They weren’t able to tell us much more than you did.”

I scowled at her.

“Then why bother coming to me in the first place?”

“I had to make sure you couldn’t offer anything else,” she got up, tucking the pad and pen in her belt. “And did you really think I’d miss the chance to the infamous Nick Wilde?”

“Infamous?” I put a paw on my chest. “I’ll have you know I’m an upstanding citizen!”

She chuckled.

“I can think of a lot of words to describe you, Wilde,” she looked at me, then shook her head. “But ‘upstanding citizen’ aren’t exactly what come to mind.”

I scoffed.

“Oh, now I’m really hurt,” I clasped my paws. “You’re breaking my heart here, Fluff!”

She sighed, rolling her eyes.

“Maybe your performance will improve after you get some sleep,” she hopped to the floor. “Just try and relax for a bit, I think it’ll be a while before Chief Bogo lets us finish with you.”

I groaned, falling back against my pillow. All it did was send a bolt of pain through me.

“Oh, I can’t wait.”

* * *

My team had done a sweet job keeping the press out, but we still got hit up by fans once in a while when we left our rooms, not that we’d had many chances the past few days. The docs still hadn’t figured out why Trevor ‘went savage’, or whatever they’d started calling it, or why I kept going nuts while I was unconscious, but they seemed to think keeping me locked in here was going to get them answers.

They kept me tied to the bed another day or so after that rabbit left, before finally figuring out I wasn’t going to snap and eat someone. Without them asking first, because I’m just classy like that.

I climbed out of bed and went to the window, pushing back the curtain enough to look outside. We were stuck on the third floor, and news vans were clogging the parking lot, a crowd of reporters at the doors trying to push their way inside. I smirked when Ed and his brother Rocco shoved them back; I could hear them growl as the cameras flashed in their faces.

“Looks like you’re quite the big shot, Slick.”

I jumped, scowling at the bunny laughing her ass off behind me.

“I thought the cops were done talking to us now,” I let the curtain drop and went back to my bed. She just hopped right up and made herself comfy.

“I never said we were,” she held up her paws when I reached for the call button. “And relax, I’m not here in any official capacity today.”

I rolled my eyes, leaning back against the headrail.

“Okay, so why are you here, then?” I asked. “It can’t be because you’re a fan of…”

I trailed off when I noticed her shirt, _Savage Wilde_ slapped across her chest with me, Trevor, Paul and Mercy posing beneath it. She looked down at it, her ears falling back.

“Y-You guys are my favorite band,” she explained, still staring at the bed. “I’ve got all your albums.”

I blinked, then shook my head, but I didn’t know why I was so surprised. She’s not the first prey who’s admitted to being a fan. I put my paws behind my head.

“I would’ve taken you for more of a hip-hop bunny,” I flashed a smile. She groaned, tugging on her ear.

“I swear, if I hear that damn joke one more time…” she muttered, then glared at me. I laughed.

“I just didn’t take you for a punk fan, Carrots,” I said, then my grin dropped. “It’s supposed to be _predator noise_ after all.”

There was still a huge divide between prey and predators, one that spread right into music. Basically, anything that wasn’t completely happy, sappy, or boring enough to put a kid to sleep was looked down on. Just like every other ‘loud’ and ‘aggressive’ thing we preds were known for. She huffed.

“It could be music from Mars and I wouldn’t give a crap,” she punched the mattress. “It shouldn’t matter who makes it, anyone should be able to listen to it without having some stupid stigma attached to them.”

“Mind spreading that to the public?” I nodded toward the window. “There’s a sea of reporters out there that would love to help.”

She looked at me, tilting her head.

“You know, I’ve wanted to meet you since I heard your first song,” her eyes narrowed. “I thought, since you’re one of the only foxes who’ve made it big, that you’d be a lot more arrogant, but you’re not too bad.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Listen, Carrots,” I shook my head. “If you really think that, then you’re even more naïve than you look.”

I cocked a brow.

“Though to be fair, you are about the only girl who’s come to my room just to talk.”

She flushed a second, then shook it off. She got to her paws and knees, crawling forward until her nose was almost pressed against mine.

“You must be pretty fast, then,” she smirked. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard about you sleeping with a girl more than once.”

“Oh, ouch,” I couldn’t hold back a laugh. That was the last thing I would’ve expected from her. “Bit of a low blow there, Carrots.”

She chuckled, sitting back again.

“Don’t dish it if you can’t take it, Slick.”

I rolled my eyes.

“So why’d you really come back here?” I asked. “I’m sure you have better things to do than talk to someone like me.”

She blushed again, and this time, it stuck.

“I just figured you’d like some company,” she swallowed, not looking at me. “It has to be getting boring, lying in here all day.”

I shrugged.

“It hasn’t been that bad, I don’t really get much down time,” I thought a second. “Well, when I don’t have someone trying to jump down my throat about something.”

I glanced at the window. It was hard to tell, but it sounded like the paparazzi sea was finally starting to split. Her huge ears perked forward.

“So you never get time to just relax like this?” she asked. “Ever?”

“Eh, you get used to it,” I stretched my arms in front of me. “All part of being born a fox.”

She kept staring at me after I let my paws drop; I knew I was nice to look at, but I was starting to think she’d short-circuited or something.

“Uh, hey, Carrots?” I leaned forward, waving a paw in her face. “You still in there?”

She blinked, shaking her head and pressing her paws to her face.

“Huh? What?” she looked at me like she’d just realized I was there. “Did you say something?”

“No,” I pulled back. “But you were staring at me like I was a prime cut of salmon.”

Her ears dropped, the insides bright red.

“I don’t eat meat,” she muttered, then slipped off the bed. “And I should probably get going, I still have a lot of work to do on this case.”

She stopped half-way to the door, keeping her back to me.

“I-It was nice talking to you again, Slick, see you.”

She motored out before I could say anything, leaving the door wide open. A few minutes later, Mercy tapped on it, she and Paul sticking their heads in. She brushed her purple bangs from her face, her fur white and pale gray. She was an arctic wolf, our backup vocalist and an old fling of mine. It hadn’t lasted long, since I’d realized she was more of a sister than a potential mate to me.

“How you feeling, Nick?”

“Fine,” I rotated my shoulder, it had been stiff for days. “Could use some real food, though.”

She giggled and strolled inside, Paul waiting in the doorway a second before pulling it shut behind him. The brown lynx was so quiet and nervous off-stage, it was hard to believe he was one of the best guitarists in the country. Besides me, of course. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking anywhere but me. Trevor’s parents had adopted him when he was three, and knowing him, he probably felt guilty he hadn’t been able to stop his brother.

“How’s Trevor?” I asked. “He still going nuts?”

Mercy sighed.

“Yeah,” she said sadly. “The doctors can’t seem to find any way to get him back to normal.”

I crossed my arms.

“And I’m guessing they still have no idea how he lost it in the first place, right?”

“None,” Paul threw his paw down, shoving them in his pockets. “They haven’t told us much, though, I think the cops are trying to keep this one quiet.”

“No surprise there,” Mercy cut in. “Half the ZPD and a third of the city are preds, they probably just don’t want to start a panic.”

“Makes as much sense as anything else about this,” I drummed my claws on my arm. “What did you guys think of the bunny cop that talked to you?”

Paul blinked.

“What bunny? I talked to a rhino.”

“And I spoke with a tigress,” she looked at me. “Is there really a bunny on the force? When did that happen?”

“It must’ve been pretty recently,” I pulled my tail in my lap and started combing it with my fingers. “I’d never even heard of her before she barged in here the first time.”

“First time?” her eyes narrowed. After being ignored by them, she didn’t really trust cops, prey ones especially. “We only spoke to them once, how many times has this bunny talked to you?”

“This was the second time,” I scratched my cheek. “She actually left just before you two showed up.”

My tail flicked, and I smoothed it down again.

“Said she was here in an ‘unofficial’ capacity,” I went on. “Found out she’s a fan.”

My tail thumped again. Why did thinking about her have me so agitated all of a sudden?

“How much longer are they going to keep you here?” Paul asked. “It’s been almost a week since Merc and I were let go.”

She punched his shoulder.

“I told you not to call me that, Short Tail,” she turned away from him, her own long, bushy tail slapping him in the face. I chuckled.

“Another day or so, I’d guess,” I kept the smile. “And how about you two try not to kill each other before then?”

She huffed.

“No promises here.”

Paul shrugged, following her out.

“I can only promise to do my best.”

* * *

Trevor had vanished. A few hours before I was discharged, I’d finally gotten a chance to see him. He’d been locked up even more tightly than I’d been, stuck in an old cell in the psych ward while they tried to figure out what the hell was going on. I’d slammed almost every doctor I’d passed for info, had even tried bribing a few, but no one had been able to tell me anything. All I’d been able to get was some whispering I’d overheard, something about a new drug that was starting to make its way through the streets.

Paul and Mercy were waiting in his car when I got outside, her staring into space while he just banged his head on the wheel.

“This can’t be happening,” he muttered. I climbed in the back, throwing my duffle bag on the floor, I’d asked Ed to get some of my crap from home. “It…can’t…be…happening!”

“Well, guess what?” she turned to glare at him, and it was hard to miss the tears in her eyes. “It _is_ happening, and there’s nothing we can do about it!”

I groaned, leaning forward.

“Arguing about it’s not going to solve anything,” I snapped, then sat back and buckled up. “Paul, stop at Precinct One, I knew someone there who can help us.”

“Right,” he didn’t argue, peeling out of the parking lot. He glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “Wait, it’s not that bunny cop, is it?”

I crossed my arms, he wasn’t much better about cops than she was.

“She’s the only cop I know that’s willing to talk to me,” I said. “Without trying to pin something on me in the process.”

“But you’ve only talked to her twice,” Mercy cut in. “ _And_ she’s prey, how do you know you can really trust her?”

I hated to admit it, but I knew she had a point.

“I don’t know,” I told the truth. “I just feel like I can. Besides, she’s a fan.”

Neither of them looked convinced, and I couldn’t blame them. They glanced at each other, then she huffed.

”As long as you’re sure,” she turned back to me. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt again…”

I tensed, shoving away the memories that tried to take over. I’d just be wasting time if I let myself think about that.

“This isn’t about me,” I stared at the station as we pulled into the lot. “Trevor’s missing now, and you know we won’t be able to find him ourselves.”

Paul stopped at the curb, looking over his shoulder.

“Just…don’t do anything stupid this time, all right?”

I flashed a smile as I took off my seatbelt.

“No promises.”

It was hard to miss the looks when I walked in, the paws and hooves reaching for pockets to grab their wallets. The only difference was it wasn’t quite as obvious as it was on the streets. I kept my stance relaxed as I strolled to the front desk, cocking a brow at the fat cheetah sitting behind it, flapping a paw as he talked to the gray and blue spot sitting in front of him. That spot turned out to be the rabbit I was looking for, clinging to a donut that was almost bigger than she was. From the way that cat was staring at it, she was smart to.

“So you really are a cop, Carrots,” I stuffed my paws in my pockets. They turned to me, her eyes narrowing as she took a big bite and hopped down, letting the donut plop on the desk.

“I didn’t think foxes came out during the day,” she licked her fingers clean. “What are you doing here, Slick?”

I knelt down, taking her shoulder.

"I was just wondering why you’re sitting around gossiping when Trevor’s gone missing,” I hissed at her. “And there’s still that tiny problem of him being savage.”

She stared at me as I pulled back, getting to my feet.

“Wait, Trevor’s gone?” she sounded genuinely shocked. “When did that happen?”

“This morning,” I shoved my paws back in my pockets, keeping my face blank. “Just after I saw him in that freaking _cell_ they had him in.”

She stood there a few seconds before turning to the cheetah, who froze with the back end of a donut hanging from his mouth. He gulped it down so fast I was amazed he didn’t choke on it.

“I-I was just about to give you that info, Judy,” he stammered. “I swear!”

She growled in frustration before turning back to me, putting her paws on her hips.

“Okay, here’s how this is going to work, Slick Nick,” she started. “You’re going to tell me what you know, then leave this matter to the ZPD. Got it?”

I scoffed.

“I’ve known Trevor since we were kids,” I returned. “And this happened on my watch, so either I stay on this case, or I’m not saying shit.”

She stared at me before smirking.

“Sorry, Wilde, but last I checked, you were just a musician,” she cocked her hip. “So I’m afraid you’ll have to sit this one out.”

I chuckled, pulling open my vest to show the badge I kept there.

“Sorry to disappoint you, sweetheart, but I’m not ‘just a musician’,” I smirked back at her. “Surprise!”

* * *

 She sat as far from me as she could once we’d climbed in Paul’s car. It was hard not to laugh at the pissed off look on her face, or the blank stares on his and Mercy’s whenever they glanced back at us.

“How the hell did you keep that a secret, Nick?” Paul spoke up first. I shrugged.

“I wasn’t hiding anything,” I took out the badge and shined it on my sleeve. “It’s my dad’s old PI shield.”

“What?!” Carrots glared at me for the first time since we’d left the precinct. I tucked the badge back in my vest.

“I knew it was the only way you’d let me have a piece of this,” I told her, then smirked. “It’s called a hustle, sweetheart.”

She growled, then threw off her seatbelt.

“Stop the car, Paul,” she snapped. “I’m getting out!”

He pulled into a metered spot by the sidewalk, I grabbed her arm before she could bail.

“Hold on there, Fluff,” I pulled her back toward me. “You really think you’ll be able to do this alone?”

She shook my paw off.

“Of course I will,” she crossed her arms. “I’ve worked my entire life for this job, I’m more than capable of finding one missing mammal!”

I just looked at her.

“I’m not doubting your capabilities here, Carrots,” I tried placating her. “I’m just saying we’ll stand a better chance of finding him if we work together.”

“He’s right, Judy,” Mercy looked over her shoulder. “Hardly anyone knows the city better than Nick, and we have more influence in pred circles than you might think.”

“We’re not going to force you into anything.” Paul steered back onto the street. “We’re just asking you to think about it.”

She looked around at us, and I could see her mind working behind that cute little face. Finally, she sighed, slumping in her seat and tugging her seatbelt back on.

“Fine, I’ll let you be part of this investigation, but _only_ this one,” she glared at me again. “But just know that if you ever trick me again, I’m going to taze you until your fur falls off, got it?”

I laughed.

“Works for me, Fluff,” I held out a paw. “Welcome to the team.”

She smiled, crushing it a bit when she shook it. Could she have made it any more obvious she didn’t trust me?

“ _So_ glad to be here, Slick.”

* * *

_“Stop it! Please, Nick, stop!”_

_“They’ll never forgive you for this!”_

_“What are you doing? Get the hell away from him!”_

_“Mommy? Mommy!”_

I snapped out of the dream, sure my heart was about to beat a hole through my chest. I jerked away from the paw on my arm, turning to see Mercy staring at me, looking scared out of her mind.

“You dozed off, Nick,” she told me. “And you just started losing it. What’s going on with you?”

I swallowed, then shook my head.

“N-Nothing,” I looked away, trying to catch my breath. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen me like that, and I doubted it would be the last. “I-I’m just stressed about Trevor.”

“We all are,” she shifted in her seat. When had she moved back here? “I may not fully understand it, but I’m still here if you need to talk about anything. I hope you know that.”

I nodded.

“I do know, believe me,” I looked out the window. It was starting to get dark, porch lights coming on up and down the street. “Where are we?”

“Mr. And Mrs. King’s place,” she said. “He and Judy went in to see if they could learn anything.”

Unlike most of us, Paul had started out in foster care, and probably would’ve spent his whole life in the system if Trevor’s parents hadn’t come along. A lot of mammals on both sides still gave them shit about it, but I wished there were a lot more animals like them. At least one part of the world would be a hell of a lot less broken if there were.

“Nick?”

I shook my head.

“Sorry,” I turned back to her, fighting to keep my mask in place. She didn’t know the full truth about me, none of them did, and I planned on it staying that way. “How long have they been in there?”

She shrugged.

“A couple hours, but I don’t know how much they’ll be able to get,” she shifted again. “Was your dad really a PI, Nick, or is that badge a fake?”

She shrank back when I glared at her.

“You really think I’d carry this around if it was fake?” I couldn’t keep the anger from my voice. I whipped it out, clutching it so the edges bit into my palm. “My dad’s line of work is what got him killed, this is a reminder to never make the same mistakes.”

I stared down at it. The brass was getting dull, and the paint was starting to chip, but I never let it out of my sight. It was pretty much all I had left of my family…

“Nick?” she touched my arm again. “Are you sure you want to be part of this? I mean, it looks like it’s bringing up a lot of—”

“I’m fine,” I shrugged her paw off, my voice still harsh. I tucked the badge away. “And yeah, this is already bringing up a lot of shit, but it’s high time I started dealing with it. I’ve been running from it for too long already.”

She messed with her paws.

“Yeah, but… _what_ exactly are you running from? We’ve all known you for years,” she added. “And we’ve all caught you like this before, but you always push us away when we ask about it.”

I shook my head, turning back to the window.

“That’s because it has nothing to with any of you,” I looked at her reflection. “And I know you’ve all got your own crap to deal with.”

I watched as she let her nerves got to her, as she glanced anywhere but me. She’d always sucked at keeping secrets, part of why I didn’t tell her anything. Aside from Trevor, we’d all spent at least part of our childhood in a broken home, had grown up being treated like trash by prey, told over and over that predators no longer had a place in the world. It was the main reason I’d decided to start the band, so none of us would have to deal with all that alone, so there’d always be someone waiting to catch us if we fell.

I looked up when a door shut, Carrots walking from the house and hopping inside after Mercy climbed out.

“How’d it go?” she asked, getting behind the wheel when Paul didn’t show up. “You learn anything?”

Carrots shook her head.

“They don’t have any idea how this could’ve happened, Trevor’s always been so easy-going,” she cleared her throat. “And Paul’s staying here tonight, he said he doesn’t want to be too far from them.”

“I don’t blame him,” Mercy started the car after they buckled up. “I’d want to be close to my parents, too, if something like this happened.”

I scoffed.

“No, you wouldn’t,” I said. “We both know you wouldn’t give two shits.”

She sighed.

“You’re right, I really wouldn’t, but it’s different for him and Trevor,” she went on. “Their parents actually care.”

I didn’t say anything. Cross-species adoption, or even just fostering, was a pretty rare thing, and most of the time was just done to get sympathy, votes, or whatever the mammals doing it were after. I’m just glad Paul was one of the few who got lucky. I glanced over at Carrots, who was flipping through her notebook again.

“So, where can we drop you, bunny?”

It took her a few seconds to answer.

“Uh, the Grand Pangolin Arms,” she said. “Southeast side of Savanna Central.”

“Got it,” Mercy pulled onto the main street. “You want to stop somewhere first, Judy?”

She shook her head.

“That’s okay, it’s been a long day, and I just want to…”

I tuned out at that point. There was still something about this rabbit I couldn’t place, and it was starting to tick me off. Why was she so dead-set on finding a predator? Why didn’t she just automatically hate us like most prey did? What the hell was she really after?

 _“Not all prey think like that, Nicky,”_ my mom’s voice popped up. _“Yes, a lot of us are still pretty closed-minded, but that’s changing more every day it won’t be much longer before this pointless hatred is over.”_

 _Heh, sorry to disappoint you,_ I thought bitterly. _But that attitude ain’t going away any time soon. If anything, it’s just kept getting worse._

This whole ‘going savage’ thing actually started a month or so ago, when an otter attacked a moose in the Rainforest District. According to the witnesses, it had come completely out of nowhere, and the bull had almost lost an ear because of it. They’d been pretty random: popping up all over the city, varying amounts of time between the attacks, and there didn’t seem to be any other kind of pattern to it, either. Had all those mammals been triggered by something? Was someone doing it on purpose?

I shook my head. Mammals couldn’t be forced to lose it like that, that just didn’t make any sense. But, then, what _was_ causing it? Why was it happening in the fist place?

“Hey, Nick?”

“Huh?” I came back to reality. Those space-outs of mine had started happening a lot more lately, too. We were in front of my place, just outside the main city wall, and from how Mercy was staring at me, we’d been there a while. I pushed the questions back, there’d be plenty of time to worry about them later.

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

Her ears fell back.

“I-I asked if I could stay here tonight,” she faced forward again, her voice getting lower. “Or maybe…you know…a while?”

I tensed, my claws starting to dig into the seat.

“It’s Brandon again, isn’t it?”

She froze, then nodded. She’d hooked up with the guy a few months after I’d ended things with her, and he was turning out to be a complete piece of shit. Pretty much the only thing he hadn’t done so far was beat her, but I knew that wasn’t far off. And if I found out he ever did lay a paw on her like that? Well, let’s just say there’d be one less gray wolf in the world. I leaned forward, taking her wrist.

“Stay as long as you want,” I said gently. “I’ll make sure he can’t get to you.”

It was hard to miss the tears in her eyes, even with how fast she swiped them away.

“T-Thanks, Nick,” she tried to smile. I tightened my grip before letting go.

“Any time.”


	2. Chapter 2

I don’t sleep much, never have. My head was spinning so much I doubted I could have right now, anyway. So instead I grabbed my laptop and looked for anything I could get my paws on about the animals going savage, hoping to find at least some kind of connection. But all I got was speculation, rumors, and a lot of prey saying they weren’t surprised. I did learn one thing, though, that Trevor wasn’t the first to go missing; they all had, just after they got the chance to attack someone. That put some weight behind the idea that this was being done on purpose, but I still couldn’t figure out who’d be behind it, or how they were making it happen.

My ear flicked when my phone went off, still jammed in my pocket; I grabbed my pants from the floor to see Paul had texted me.

 _‘Sry I couldn’t b more help,’_ I still couldn’t figure out why he texted like that. _‘U guys find anything yet?’_

 _‘Not really’_ my claws clicked a bit on the screen. I sighed. _‘But Merc’s here she’s hiding from Brandon’_

I could imagine the look on his face as he read that. He’d always kind of had a thing for her, not that she’d ever noticed.

_‘Again?’_

_‘Yeah’_

_‘Think Judy would lend me hr dart gun if I askd?’_

I chuckled, that was the least I would do.

_‘Fat chance’_

I sat back, staring at the ceiling. I’d rebuilt this place from the ground up after the fire, thinking that staying here would help me come to terms with what had happened. I had no idea if it was working or not, though, I buried that old pain so deep I couldn’t even feel it half the time. Another reason was there weren’t many places outside the slums that let foxes come within about a hundred feet, and I’d already had more than my fill of _those_ parts of town.

My phone went off again. I hit the link Paul had sent me, an article with a grainy, washed-out picture from some kind of security camera, showing a lumpy shape lying in the branches somewhere in the Rainforest District. I could barely see the tip of what might have been a weapon past the shadows, and the headline blaring me in the face didn’t do much to clear things up.

_‘First Sighting of Possible Suspect?’_

_‘Good luck getting anywhere with that’_ I typed. _‘Can’t even see the guy’_

_‘I knw, but its stil something, right?’_

I rolled my eyes.

 _‘We’re going to need a lot more than that if we want to crack this’_ I scratched my muzzle, shoving my hair back from my face. _‘How are your folks taking all this’_

_‘Not good, mom can’t stp crying.’_

I flashed back to my mom, how many times I’d caught her crying. I growled, shaking my head so my neck cracked.

_Stop thinking about it, damn it!_

_‘We’re going to find him Paul we’ll find all of them’_

It took him a while to answer, I couldn’t blame him for not believing me.

_‘I knw.’_

_‘But can we relly do this?’_

I’d already asked myself that a few times. Luck wasn’t on our side, but that had never stopped us before, and I got the feeling Carrots wouldn’t give up, either.

_‘Most cops would never really care about this one so who else is there’_

_‘Guss ur right.’_

_‘Gtg, moms crying again.’_

I set my phone on the nightstand, laying back with my paws behind my head. How _were_ we supposed to solve this? And even if we did manage to find Trevor and the others, would there be any chance of bringing them back? Or would they be stuck like that? I shivered, remembering how he’d paced around in that cell, growling and pouncing at anything that moved. I’d thought I’d seen some recognition in his eyes when I’d tried talking to him, but even if it had actually been there, it had disappeared when he’d charged at me. Barely held back by what I’d hoped was a wall of shatter-proof glass between us. Most of the stuff on his side had already been broken, clawed, chewed or ripped to pieces, and things had only gotten worse when they’d thrown those fish in. He’d torn into the pile like he hadn’t eaten in weeks, lapping up the blood that had splattered his face and the floor, before trying to smash something else to bits.

I shuddered again. That was the last thing I’d seen him do, I’d barely hit the nearest trash can before puking my guts out. Only an hour or two had passed before I’d overheard some nurses talking, saying the new psych patient had disappeared from his room. I’d asked about every doctor and nurse I’d come across after that; they’d acted completely clueless, if they hadn’t outright ignored me.

I doubted they really hadn’t known, it had seemed more like they’d been protecting someone, or had been persuaded to keep quiet. I ground my teeth, pressing my paws to my eyes. This wasn’t going to get me anywhere. I grabbed the pill bottle I kept on the nightstand, dumped out two and swallowed them dry, spacing out as I waited for them to take over. Though I still doubted I’d get any sleep tonight… 

* * *

 I didn’t wake up until I hit the floor, looking up to see Mercy sitting on my bed, not even trying to hide how hard she was laughing.

“I’ve been trying to wake you for twenty minutes,” she managed. “I didn’t know what else to do!”

I groaned, rubbing my head as I got to my feet; I grabbed the pillow that had dropped with me and threw it at her. She dodged it.

“Don’t you know the saying ‘let a sleeping fox lie’?”

“Of course,” she finally stopped laughing. “I also know ‘make a stinky fox bathe’.”

I groaned again.

“You’ve been hanging out with Paul too much…”

She crossed her arms, tossing her head back.

“And where do you think he learned it?”

I chuckled.

“Trevor, who else?”

I went to my dresser and dug through it, grabbing what I needed as fast as I could. Mercy was pretty much the only one who could get away with laughing at me like that, but that didn’t mean I liked when she did it. She was messing with my phone when I turned back to her, that smirk still on her face.

“Just told Judy you’re finally up,” she tossed it on the bed. “And just gave her your number.”

I scoffed, reminding myself, again, to set up the passcode.

“And what was the point of that?” I snatched it as I walked past. She yanked my tail.

“Because she already has Paul’s number,” her smile dropped. “And I may have ‘accidentally’ dropped mine in a toilet at the hospital, I don’t want Brandon finding out where I am.”

“He won’t,” I took her paw. “We’re the only ones who know this place is still around, and I’ve got a security set-up a flea couldn’t get past.”

I tightened my grip, smiling at her.

“You’re don’t have to worry, you’re safe here.”

She started crying when I pulled back, covering her face as she ran from the room. The whole time, I felt guilt biting at me, just like it always did when she got like that. It never would’ve happened if I’d stayed with her.

I jumped when my phone went off; Carrots had texted back, a group message with me and Paul.

_‘Already on my way, I’ll see you guys soon!’_

I decided not to question how she already knew where I lived, I sure as hell hadn’t told her. I shook my head, shoving my annoyance aside for now. She wouldn’t be able to solve this without us, just like we’d never get far without her. I’d just have to deal with whatever was going on with me until then, and after that I could go back to acting like she didn’t exist, just like I was sure she’d do with me. I tossed my phone back on the bed and hit the bathroom, turning the shower on full. I pressed my paws to counter as I waited for the water to warm up, letting my head hang.

 _Just find Trevor and fix him,_ I told myself. _Then you’ll never have to see that stupid rabbit again._

I looked up, hating the confused, exhausted red fox that stared back at me.

_But are you sure that’s how you want to things to go?_

I growled, my claws dragging across the counter as my fists tightened. This was going to be one long-ass day…

* * *

It was honestly hard to tell who had the better laugh; Mercy’s was loud, smooth and high. Carrots’ was quieter, obviously, with little snorts and gasps scattered around, and there was just something about that made me never want to stop hearing it.

 _Whoa, whoa, whoa, what?_ Where the hell had _that_ thought come from? I groaned, pushing harder on the towel I was using to dry my ears, hoping that would block it out. I’d already spent most of the morning thinking about that damn rabbit, and I couldn’t afford to keep getting distracted, not with Trevor and those other mammals still in trouble.

 _Get your head out of the clouds, Wilde,_ I swiped at my ears again and dropped the towel around my neck. _You’ve already got enough to worry about…_

I pushed my way into the kitchen, letting the door swing shut behind me. Mercy was leaning against the island, swirling a mug that was likely filled with juice as she looked over Carrots’ shoulder. The bunny was sitting on a placemat by the sink, tapping away at a laptop.

“Was wondering when you’d get here, Slick,” she didn’t look up. I rolled my eyes, hitting the fridge and grabbing a bowl of blueberries.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Officer Fluff,” I climbed on one of the barstools across from her, popping a few in my mouth. “You find anything yet?”

She shook her head, closing it and shoving it in the bag next to her.

“Pretty much nothing,” she rubbed her eyes. “The only thing the victims seem to have in common is that they’re all predators.”

I grabbed another pawful of berries.

“And they went missing after losing their minds,” I added. “Paul and I found out that much last night.”

I took my phone from my pocket, pulling up the article he’d linked to me.

“He also sent me this,” I passed it to her. “What do you think?”

She stared at a while before shaking her head.

“That’s not too helpful, either,” she said. “You can’t even see the guy.”

“I know,” I took it back, looking through the other messages. “I told him the same thing.”

“And who knows if that’s even actually related,” she ran her paws down her ears. “This case has already stretched on for weeks, and every time it’s in the news brings mammals closer to a panic, I don’t know how much more the city can take.”

“But how’s the press even getting wind of this?” Mercy spoke up. I’d almost forgotten she was there. “It sounds like you guys have kept a tight lid on it.”

“We are, but there’s only so much we can do,” Carrots shrugged. “Sooner or later, something always gets out.”

I sat back, knocking back some more berries.

“I know the truth of that,” I swallowed, then wiped my mouth. “So what’s the plan?”

She groaned, burying her face in her paws.

“I have no idea,” she groused. “We haven’t found anything that would help us catch who’s behind this, let alone figure out how they’re doing it.”

She got to her feet.

“Only a couple of the victims so far made it to a hospital before they disappeared, and we’re still running tests on those samples to figure out just _what_ is doing this,” she crossed her arms, her foot starting to thump. Must be a bunny thing. “There’s no telling when we’ll have an actual antidote, or even if this actually _can_ be reversed—”

“Okay, I think we get it, Fluff,” I shook my head. “Our job is supposed to be finding these guys, let the lab coats deal with that other crap.”

She groaned again.

“I know, I’m just really out of my element here,” she dropped to her knees. “I transferred to my hometown, Bunnyburrow, after being stuck with parking duty my first few weeks here, and we don’t get much beyond petty theft and the occasional assault. I’ve never dealt with a case like this before.”

“Why are you investigating this, then?” Mercy asked, putting her cup in the sink. “No one outside the city’s disappeared.”

“Yet,” Carrots added. “But Bogo and Lionheart think it won’t be long before this spreads further, so every precinct outside the city has sent any officers they can spare until this thing is solved.”

“Speaking of which,” I pulled my phone back out. “I think it’s time we stopped talking about it and started working on it, we won’t get anywhere just sitting here.”

“You’re right,” she grabbed her bag and hopped off the island. “I texted Paul on my way here, he’s waiting at his parents’ place.”

“Let me just grab a shirt,” I flicked the towel off, tossing it on the stool as I slid down. I was already looking through my contacts, I knew a lot of preds that worked under the table, and I had a feeling we wouldn’t be able to do this without them. I also couldn’t shake the feeling that something was just…off about all this, like we still weren’t getting the full story. I shook my head, adding it to the list of things to worry about later. “You coming with us?”

I looked at Mercy, who was still by the island, staring into the sink. She jumped when I cleared my throat, grabbing the bowl I’d left out and throwing it in the fridge.

“Oh, uh, I’ll just s-stay here today,” she stuttered, then flashed a shaky smile. “I’ll, uh, do some research while you guys…do whatever it is you’re going to.”

My eyes narrowed, she couldn’t have been more of an open book if she tried.

“You’re worried we might run into Brandon,” I said flatly. She shook her head, trying to stammer out some excuse, but I cut her off. “I’ve already got someone tailing him, and they’re going to arrest him for the first thing they can.”

I stepped toward her, frowning when she backed away.

“He won’t be able to find you here, Mercy,” I went on. “And if by some miracle of hell he did, he wouldn’t get the chance to hurt you, I can promise you that.”

I knew she wanted to believe me, but her fear overrode it. She choked back a sob, swiping the tears from her eyes.

“H-He’s not as stupid as he acts, Nick,” she managed. “A-And if he wants to get somewhere, then nothing will stop him!”

I looked behind me when the door opened, Carrots peeking her head in.

“Is everything okay? You guys have been talking for a while.”

Mercy sniffled.

“I-It’s fine, I’m just being stupid,” she brushed some hair from her face. “You guys should get going, t-those preds need you more than I do right now.”

Carrots glanced between us.

“You sure? I-I can call my partner if I need to,” she offered. “He can chase down these leads if we have to deal with—”

We both jumped when Mercy slammed her paws on the sink, her growl enough to send most mammals running for the hills.

“I said I’ve got it!” she creamed, tears spilling through her fur even as she glared murder at us. She growled again. “Now get out of here before I eat you!”

I did run that time, right out the door with my tail between my legs, and Carrots looked like she was about to have a heart attack. She gulped.

“N-Note to self, never, _ever_ make Mercy mad…”

I nodded. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen her like that, but it was the first time I’d been the target of it, and I wasn’t exactly eager for a repeat.

“N-Noted…”

* * *

I’d outfitted an old office with monitors connected to the cameras outside, and that was where my team split their time when we weren’t on tour or out in the city. Carrots waited by the front door while I filled Ed and his brother Rocco in on the situation with Brandon, since Max and Jeremy, a couple of grizzlies I knew from the streets, were already keeping watch for him outside.

“Relax, Officer Fluff,” I swept past her. “They’re some of the best in the business, that asshole won’t get near her.”

“I believe that,” she glanced away, her ears falling before she flicked them up. “I just hope we’ll be able to find Trevor and the others, we don’t even know where to start looking for them!”

I smirked at her.

“That won’t be an issue,” I took Paul’s keys from my pocket. “I know the city and everyone in it like the back of my paw, it won’t take long to find something.”

I jumped on the railing for the porch steps, pushing off at the end and flipping cleanly to my feet. I looked over my shoulder to see her staring at me, her mouth hanging open.

“I’d be happy to give you the full show, Carrots,” I chuckled. “But we’ve got work to do!”

It took her a second to snap out of it, then she hopped over the steps completely, landing next to me.

“You’re the only fox I’ve seen that’s able to pull off those stunts,” she said. “Where’d you learn all that?”

I shrugged.

“Just kind of picked it up, I guess,” I unlocked Paul’s car and climbed behind the wheel, adjusting the seat while she went around to the passenger side. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to talk to her, how it already felt like I’d always known her. I sighed, knocking my head back against the seat. What the hell was wrong with me?

“Uh, Nick?”

I glanced at her, she was twisting her seatbelt, looking as uneasy as I felt.

“Yeah?”

She messed with the belt again, then threw her paws in her lap.

“Uh, it can wait until after the case,” she muttered quickly. “We shouldn’t waste any more time…”

I forced myself to nod, keeping quiet as I started the car and pulled away from the house. I still couldn’t shake what had been biting at me, or even begin to sort it out, but I pushed it to the back of my mind like everything else, I had something more important to focus on right now. I thought back to what I’d managed to learn about some of the victims, mapping out where we’d be the most likely to get what we needed, and who we’d have to ask to get it. I glanced at the rabbit next to me, silently hoping she’d be able to handle it.

_If not, then this city’s not the only thing about to get mauled…_

* * *

 Paul glanced at me in the rearview mirror, he’d practically thrown me in the back when he’d seen us, telling Carrots to never let me anywhere near a steering wheel. She’d just laughed.

“He didn’t do that badly on the way here,” she smirked at me past the seat. “He just drove like a crazy mammal, that’s all!”

Paul scoffed.

“That just means he was too busy thinking about something,” he said. “Was he at least _looking_ at the road this time?”

I groaned, slapping a paw over my eyes.

“I steer into a ditch _one_ time and you never let me hear the end of it,” I dug my claws in, then let my paw drop. “Did you even _see_ how bad the rest of the line was?”

He rolled his eyes, turning to Carrots.

“So, where to first?”

She brought out her notepad and flipped through it.

“Uh, some place called White Spring House,” she scanned a few lines. “A couple victims were seen leaving there just before they went savage.”

My ears perked at the name.

“I know that place,” I leaned forward. “It’s one of the biggest drug dens in the city, and I’m not just talking catnip.”

Paul almost sent me into the dash when he slammed on the brake at a red light, but me risking a broken neck wasn’t enough to stop a certain rabbit from losing it.

“They invented seat belts for a reason, Nick!”

“Shut it, Carrots!” I rubbed my head, glaring at Paul. “And what the hell was that about?!”

“You swore you’d never go near that shit,” he snapped at me, stepping too hard on the gas when the light changed. “Not after what Tony put you through!”

I growled, Carrots’ laugh cutting off.

“It’s not about Tony,” I managed as calmly as I could. I glanced at the rabbit; she was staring at me with wide eyes, but there wasn’t a sniff of fear coming off her. “I started looking into this long before I ran into Miss Bunny Cop over there, I knew those preds weren’t going nuts on their own.”

I sat back, remembering my seat belt this time.

“I didn’t say anything because I knew you guys would try to stop me,” I went on. “And I’m not just going to sit on the sidelines and watch things get worse.”

I looked away, my grip tightening on the belt.

“Not this time…”

I felt their stares on me, knew the questions they wanted to ask, but I didn’t have time for that now, none of us did. I sighed.

“Look, let’s just get going,” I glared at the back of Paul’s seat. “Every minute we waste talking is another chance for this to happen again.”

“Right,” Paul glanced at me in the rearview mirror, and it was hard to miss the fear in his eyes. I knew why he was worried, but I couldn’t let it stop us, not when there was so much at stake.

 _I’m sorry I got you all into this,_ I thought. _But I’m going to get you out, I promise._

* * *

I’ve never liked the cold, but at least once a week I ended up in Tundra Town. It was the most pred-heavy part of the city, and one of the few places we could actually be ourselves, mostly. Carrots was standing in her seat, her nose pressed to the window as the car crawled through the street, Paul slumped over the wheel as he tried to see through the snow.

“What’s up, Carrots?” I leaned forward. “Never seen a white landscape before?”

“Not like this,” she sat down, scooting closer to the heater. “And this is right next to Sahara Square, how is that possible?”

I laughed.

“A little thing called ‘climate regulation’, sweetheart,” I said. “The walls around the districts aren’t just for looks.”

“The weather stays pretty much the same in Bunnyburrow,” she said. “If we get snow more than three days a year, it’s a lot.”

“Sounds like my kind of place,” I sat back. They needed a huge blizzard twice a month to keep the snow on the ground, and this just had to be one of those days. “Let’s try and be quick here, I don’t feel like turning into a popsicle.”

“Wouldn’t that be a fox-cicle?”

Paul and I groaned.

“Leave the bad jokes to him, okay, Judy?”

She laughed, it really was nice to hear.

“If that’s what you want, Paul.”

White Spring House looked exactly the same: a long, short building made of ice bricks covered in snow, thin smoke trailing out the door when we walked in, the sign flashing blue above our heads. It smelled like musk and sweat inside, rugs hanging on the walls to keep the cold out and the heat in. Cheap couches were set all over the place, clothes mixed with the blankets and pillows thrown on the floor. Carrots flopped her ears over her face to block out the naked animals lounging around, Paul glancing everywhere before his eyes dropped to his feet. I chuckled, stuffing my paws in my pockets.

“You two can wait in the car if you want,” I smirked at them. “I can just meet you out there when I’m done.”

“No way,” her ears snapped back up, about as red as they could get. “I’m still in charge of this investigation.”

“Which reminds me,” I smoothed some fur on my neck. “Earlier, you said we could only help find Trevor, but you’re letting us follow a lead that has nothing to do with him.”

She bit her lip.

“It’s because I know almost nothing about the city, just how to handle the districts,” she rubbed her arm. “And I’m sure most of the mammals we end up talking to will want nothing to do with me, whether it’s because I’m a cop, prey or both.”

She looked away again, her head stuck to her shoulder as she rubbed her arm.

“And, well, I kind of, that is, I—”

“You’ve got some nerve coming back here, Wilde.”

She jumped, drawing further back as the angry snow leopard came at us. Her glare focused on the bunny, her tail starting to twitch when she saw the badge. I pushed Carrots behind me, feeling her paws clutch at my shirt, ignoring the jolt it sent through me when one trailed along my tail.

“Cool it, Jade,” I met the leopard’s glare with one of my own. “She’s with us, we’re just here to ask a few questions.”

Our stare-off lasted a few seconds, then she rolled her eyes, waving a paw for us to follow her.

“I’d rather just throw you all out on your tails, after letting the bouncers play with you,” she focused back on me. “But I already know you won’t leave until you get what you want.”

She led us further into the building, the low flute music and mixed scents of drugged up mammals starting to fade behind us. Carrots kept her grip on me the whole time, the other clamping back on my shirt when I flicked it off my tail. I had a hard enough time keeping my head straight without her touching me like that. Jade let us file into her office before coming in herself, shutting the door and leaning back against it.

“I’m guessing this has something to do with all those ‘savage’ cases that’ve popped up,” she started flatly. At least one of us must have looked shocked, because she actually chuckled. “I figured the cops would come sniffing around here sooner or later, but I can tell you I don’t have anything to do with it.”

“But several of the victims were seen leaving this place shortly before they went savage,” Carrots let go of me, pulling out her notepad and pen. “Do you have any idea why that might be?”

Jade looked down her nose at her before scoffing.

“I’m sure I don’t, bunny cop,” she snipped. “Every one of those morons were doped to hell when they left, but they were still as sane as they could be.”

“You didn’t happen to catch where they might have going, did you?” I stepped forward. “That’d be a big help in getting us off your ass.”

She looked at the mosaic on the ceiling, at least pretending to think about it.

“Now that you mention it, I do remember hearing something like that,” she went past us and hit her desk, shuffling things around and digging through drawers. “A couple of them, tigers, I think, came in a few weeks ago. They did everything you’d expect in a place like this, but one of them dropped this when they left.”

She pulled out a sandwich bag and tossed it to me.

“I saw your face on it, that’s why I decided to keep it, but I haven’t been able to make any sense of it.”

I shifted the weight of it in my paw before looking down, my eyes widening as my mouth dropped open. Of all the things I’d expected to see, this hadn’t even crossed my mind. I gulped, shoving it in my pocket before Carrots or Paul could catch a glimpse of it.

“T-Thanks, Jade,” I stammered out. “This was a big help, j-just call me if you find something else, okay?”

I shoved the door open, taking off before anyone could speak, not stopping until I was pressed flat to the side of the building. I barely noticed the snow, dragging the bag from my pocket, staring blankly at what was inside it.

Their faces looked back at me, their smiles stuck in time.

I saw the blood splash across them again, heard the mangled screams as they filled the house. I felt tears start to freeze in my fur, one thought circling through my head like a cyclone.

 _H-How the_ hell _did they get this?_

* * *

_“Mom?”_

_I dropped my backpack at the kitchen table, heading to the fridge for a Pupsi. I was finally getting used to the house being quiet when I got home, but something was off this time, and not how it usually was. I left the can in the door and went upstairs, freezing when I hit the landing. I hadn’t just smelled that, I couldn’t have…_

_My gut dropped as I followed the smell, choking when I found where it came from._

_“Mom?” I looked past the door, I couldn’t move. “Mom…”_

_Someone grabbed me from behind. I fought with everything I had, but they wouldn’t let me go._

_“_ Mom, no _!”_

I couldn’t stop crying. That was just one of the things I saw at night, the memories clawing at me, forcing me to relive them over and over again. I heard someone calling me, felt their claws digging into me, but I couldn’t fight anymore. I just didn’t have any left in me…

“Oh, Nick…”

I froze, that wasn’t anything like the voice I always heard. I did my best to shake the past away, looking up to see Carrots staring down at me, Paul panting behind me. I knew he was just as freaked as she was. I gulped.

“I-It happened again…”

Paul swallowed, holding me a second longer before letting go.

“Yeah…” he climbed out of the car and went around to the driver’s seat. “You were half-frozen, sitting in a snow drift and staring off into space.”

“You were also holding this,” Carrots pulled the bag from her pocket. I turned away, I couldn’t see it again. “Nick, who are these mammals?”

I stiffened, a low growl slipping out as my claws sank into the seat.

“It’s my…” I clinched my eyes shut. It had been years since I’d said it. “My…family.”

Her ears dropped. I waited for her to start asking questions like she always did, but she just tucked it away, taking out her notepad.

“L-Let’s just chase down the next lead for now…”

* * *

 That lead brought us to the Canal District, home to about half the city’s factories. Carrots had sent Paul out to find me while she’d talked with Jade. The tigers had bragged about a big job they were part of, but all she’d been able to remember had been something about a warehouse on the northern end of the district.

“The only problem is half this place is warehouses,” Paul complained. “How are we supposed to find the right one?”

She flipped back through her notes.

“She said it was a red one by a dock, but it doesn’t sound like that narrows it down.”

I thought a moment, now that I could finally keep my head clear enough to focus. A red warehouse by a dock, why did it feel like I’d heard that before?

“Wait a second,” I looked at Paul. “Isn’t there a red warehouse by Backwater Dock?”

“I think so,” he pulled into the empty lot. “It’s where that old underground pred park used to be, Trevor and I used to sneak out here all the time.”

“I remember you always talking about it, too,” I climbed out of the car and looked around. It was still pretty cool out, but a hell of a lot warmer than Tundra Town. “You ever find out why it was closed down?”

“Nope,” he stopped next to me. “One weekend it was there, and the next, it was just gone.”

We turned when Carrots’ foot started thumping, and she stamped down to make it stop.

“So, what, exactly, are we going to be walking into?”

She started to move past me.

“Hold up,” I took her shoulder. “I’ve got a weird feeling, let me take a look around first.”

I took off before they could stop me. I’d smelled this scent before, but I couldn’t place where, and now it wouldn’t leave me alone. I followed it to the other end of the docks, slipping on the loose gravel that led down to the water, dark and dirty. It pooled in the ruts left by a set of tires, and the sunken prints of the mammals who’d used it. I took out my phone and snapped some pics, knowing it wouldn’t last much longer.

 _‘Looks like we just missed someone’_ I sent them to Carrots. _‘What do you think’_

It took her a minute to get back to me.

_‘There’s no way to know if they’re related. Did you find what you were after?’_

_‘I dont think so, but its how I found these’_ I started heading back. The smell of this place was setting my fur on end, as if the silence wasn’t unsettling enough. The docks haven’t seen much use in the last few years, that was why they’d built that park here, but I don’t remember it ever being quite this empty. I sighed in relief when I saw Paul, standing with Carrots where I’d left them. From the look on his face, he had the same feeling I did.

“I told dispatch about those tracks you found,” she toyed with the radio on her shoulder. “But they said we’ll need more to justify sending a team out here to investigate.”

I turned to the warehouse, one of the biggest in the area, and still the only red one. Made me wonder how the cops could’ve missed the fact there’d been a freaking amusement park under it.

“Let’s just search this place and get it over with, it’s freaking me out.”

“You and me both,” Paul scratched the back of his head. “It feels like someone’s breathing down my neck.”

Carrots shivered.

“Ugh, now that you mention it,” she looked around, hugging herself. I cleared my throat.

“Since we all agree on that, how about we just find what we can, then get the hell out of here?”

We started for the warehouse, but then something else hit me. I grabbed Carrots’ arm, pulling her back.

“I think you’d better wait in the car, Fluff,” I looked her over, catching the gleam of her badge. “This is one of those ‘not cop-friendly’ areas you were worried about.”

She huffed, snatching her arm away.

“We haven’t seen anyone since we got here,” she argued. “Besides, I’m trained to deal with criminals of all sizes, so I think I’ll be fine.”

I groaned, dragging a paw down my face. She was about as stubborn as I was.

“Fine, whatever, but you’re still staying close,” I took her wrist and pulled her behind me. “I don’t need anyone coming after me because you got hurt, it’s not worth the migraine.”

She scoffed.

“Well, at least you care.”

I smirked.

“Or something like that, at least.”


	3. Chapter 3

It definitely smelled like the place had been left to rot: rust, mold, wet sawdust, everything you’d expect in an old warehouse. The crates that had been left behind were smashed open, whatever had been in them already swiped. The smell that had first set me on edge was mixed in as well, but now it was as stale as everything else. Whoever had left it hadn’t been here in years.

“So, where _is_ this ‘underground pred park’ you two keep talking about?” Carrots was sticking close to the walls, like she thought straying further into the room was the fastest way to get her killed. I smirked at her.

“Underground, obviously,” I turned to Paul. “How _did_ you guys always get there, anyway?”

He messed around with some stuff, then pulled a sheet off a desk, one of the only things still intact. He choked on the dust cloud it threw up, waving his paw around to clear it.

“There was a…hatch around here…somewhere,” he hacked again before pushing the desk to the side, uncovering a door a polar bear could fit through. It took both of us to lift it, Carrots grabbing my shirt when we hit the staircase. She turned on the flashlight on her belt, the beam bouncing ahead of us, the echo of Paul’s claws dragging along the wall behind us. It took way too long to reach the basement, but at least the floor didn’t creak and groan like the stairs did.

“So, do we just start searching?” Paul gulped, he’d always hated the dark. I took out my phone, checking the battery before hitting the flashlight. I’d only have it an hour or so at the most.

“What are we even supposed to be looking for?” I looked at Carrots. She shrugged.

“Just anything that seems out of place,” she adjusted her belt. “If this warehouse is really as empty and disused as it seems to be, then it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

I rolled my eyes, turning away.

“So basically a needle in a haystack, got it,” I flashed my phone around. “We should split up, we’d cover more ground that way.”

Carrots shook her head.

“You two aren’t trained like I am,” she said. “And I doubt you’re armed, either.”

I smirked.

“Weren’t you the one who said we were the only ones here?” I patted my pocket. “And trust me, I’m never unarmed.”

I glanced at Paul.

“He’s hopeless, though.”

He stiffened.

“Am not!”

I laughed.

“What about that time with the lemmings, or those cubs at your sister’s birthday party?” I laughed again. “Or what about the—”

Paul growled.

“Okay, I get it!” he glared at me, his ears beet red. “And the only reason I suck is because _you_ suck at teaching!”

Hw stormed off before I could say anything, Carrots and me laughing our asses off. She pressed her paws to her mouth as she calmed down, her eyes shining when she looked at me.

“Y-You shouldn’t antagonize him like that,” she managed. I shrugged.

“Not my fault he makes it so easy,” I brushed myself off. “And he really does suck at fighting, he just can’t keep his head in the game.”

She rolled her eyes, her ears twitching at Paul’s fading steps, she could probably hear a mouse sneeze on the next street with those things. She took out her phone.

“I’ll tell him to text us if he finds anything, and I expect you to do the same,” she looked at me again, all business this time. “And be careful, okay? Both of you.”

My tail flicked at her tone, what the hell was she doing to me?

“Only if you do the same, Carrots,” I threw on a smirk, not letting her see that she got to me. “We won’t exactly get far without you.”

She shook her head.

“I’m always careful,” she said. “It’s your hot-headedness I'm worried about.”

I scoffed.

“Trust me, you’ve never met a hot-head if you think I’m one,” I turned away, hating the tightness in my chest; this was the last place to be thinking about any of that. “W-We better start looking, don’t want Paul to be the first one to find something, do we?”

She chuckled again, going off in another direction.

“Whatever, Slick.”

* * *

 I swept my phone in a low arc, blowing the dust off an old picture frame. The little side room I’d wandered into looked like it had been an office, barely big enough for the folding table and a couple chairs in the middle of the floor, let alone the line of filing cabinets against the wall. Paul had been right when he’d said the park had been here one weekend and gone the next; aside from some faded posters and rusted parts, there was no sign anything like that had ever been here.

Cut Loose had apparently been some kind of paradise for preds. Paul and Trevor had always tried dragging me along when they went, but I’d always turned them down. Just keeping the fact I knew they were sneaking out like that a secret had been too much for me to handle at the time, the last thing I’d wanted was feeling guilty about going behind _my_ parents’ backs on top of it.

Only half the cabinets were locked, the rest filled with things that didn’t really matter: old pics of preds enjoying the place, letters some of them had written, that kind of crap. It hadn’t taken me long to get the rest open, since I’d found the key in a pouch stuck under the table. Not that it would’ve taken me long to pick the locks, I’m kind of a pro at that. The rest of the stuff wasn’t much use, either, just financials and other records about keeping the park going. Most of the funding had come from wealthy preds, since the big banks at the time hadn’t wanted anything to do with us, especially if we’d been unlucky enough to be born foxes.

A low growl slipped out before I could stop it. I shook my head, shoving the thoughts aside to deal with later. I had to focus on solving this thing first, then I could waste all the time I needed to sort through the shit it kept dredging up. I closed the drawer I’d been looking in, most of the stuff was so beat up I couldn’t read it, anyway, then turned to the last one. A weird feeling had started creeping up on me the second I’d walked in here, and now instincts were screaming at me to run, my heart starting to pound as I forced myself to move toward it. Ice shot down my back the second I touched the handle.

_T-This scent…_

It was fresher here somehow, only a day or two old at the most. The drawer wasn’t locked, the rusted creak as I pulled it open setting my teeth on edge. It took everything I had to just peek inside, only to jump back with a terrified gasp getting stuck in my throat.

_O-Oh no, oh God, please no!_

I whipped my phone around, barely able to keep hold of it as my shaking paws clacked out the longest text I’d ever sent.

_‘Carrots you better see this’_

* * *

I was on the other side of the room when Paul and Carrots found me, curled up on the floor with my tail in my face to block out the cabinet. I’d made the mistake of trying to look through it after texting her, but all that had done was make me scream and throw the damn thing on the floor, everything that had spilled out covered in old blood.

“Stay back, Judy,” Paul told her. “There’s no telling what he might do when he’s like this.”

I wanted to shut him up, to say I could never hurt her, but my throat was closed so tightly I could hardly breathe. I shifted my tail just enough to see her hesitate, then go over to kneel by the cabinet, her paws hovering above the mess.

“W-What on earth _is_ all of this?”

She turned back to me, her ears falling back. I knew what I must have looked like to her: a little kit who thought hiding would keep his nightmares from catching him. I froze when she got to her feet, crawling back as she walked toward me, until I hit the wall. I bared my teeth when she got on her knees, hissing when she started reaching for me. That was usually enough to send mammals running, but she just smiled.

“I’m not afraid of you, Nick,” she said softly, my ear flicking when she brushed it. “There’s no need to be, now why don’t you come here?”

I blinked, staring at her. My eyes burned from crying, and all I wanted to do was pass out, but I dragged myself closer to her, lying down with my head in her lap. From the day I’d met her, I’d felt like I could trust her, and I couldn’t believe she already trusted me enough to do this.

“There we go,” she hugged my head, putting her chin by my ear. I rubbed against her, breathing in her scent; I’d never been this close to a bunny before, or any prey mammal, really, and I’d never smelled anything but fear coming off of them. But all I smelled now was flowers and soil, fresh air and cool water. I lifted my head, burying my nose in her neck, feeling her paws lightly tug at my fur.

“Oh, Nick,” she whispered, her voice broken like she was crying. I forced my eyes open, saw her looking down at me, Paul standing behind her with his jaw hanging slack. I swallowed, taking one last breath of her scent before pulling away; I stared at the floor, my tail tucked around my feet.

“S-Sorry,” I could barely mutter it. “I-I don’t…it’s just…”

I looked up when she touched my wrist, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

“It’s okay, Nick,” she said, smiling. “I’m just glad I was able to calm you down.”

I stayed put while she headed back to the pile, fighting to keep everything in check. I was still shaking, my heart pounding, my fur standing on end. I tried to tell myself that what I’d found didn’t matter anymore, and forcing myself to forget about it was the only reason I’d made it this far.

“There’s something else going on here.”

“What do you mean?” Paul looked down at the pile, went white and turned his back to it. “W-What the hell _is_ all that?!”

“And _why_ is it all here?” she knelt again, sifting through the mess. “Those tigers had a locket with Nick’s family portrait, and now we find an entire hoard with their faces everywhere.”

She toyed with her radio.

“It’s obvious now that we were lead here on purpose,” she went on. “And my gut tells me it’s connected to all of these preds going savage.”

“Maybe, but how?” he still couldn’t look at it, and neither could I. “What _is_ the connection?”

She tapped her chin, getting back to her feet.

“I don’t know yet, but there has to be something,” she flashed a hard smile. “And we’ll just have to keep digging until we find it.”

* * *

 It was dark when we got back to my place, since we had to take a big detour to drop Paul off. There hadn’t been any sign of Brandon, and Mercy had been curled up with Rocco’s laptop all day. She was pacing around the kitchen when Carrots and I came in, twisting a cup in her paws.

“Nick!” she stopped cold when she saw me. “What happened to you? I’ve been trying to call all afternoon!”

“Sorry,” I hooked my phone to the charger. “My phone died, and I left the car charger in my glovebox.”

I hit the fridge, grabbing the bowl of blueberries I’d picked at this morning; I wasn’t hungry, but I hadn’t eaten anything since then. Carrots hopped up next to the sink and sat on her placemat, her notebook and pen already out and waiting.

“What did you want to tell him?”

Mercy grabbed the computer from the couch, setting it on the counter between us. She had about ten tabs open, each a different mammal’s Furbook profile.

“I was looking at the list of names you left here this morning,” she took a slip of paper from her pocket and passed it to Judy. “And I decided to do a little search of my own.”

She went to the mammal’s interests, scrolling to the bands they listened to.

“I snooped around Furbook and noticed they all had something in common, besides the fact that they’re preds,” she pointed to the group that had been last added. “And it turns out every one of them said they like _Savage Wilde_ sometime in the last few months.”

She went back to the main page.

“I also found the same comment on the last post each of them made before they went savage,” she turned it toward us. “But I have no idea what it’s supposed to mean.”

Carrots and I leaned closer, my jaw tightening as I read.

_‘Base listed forest4 Gray safari listed forest tundra safari gray4 Base listed forest4 Tundra listed gray4 Zorro dawn zorro base4 Under indigo listed north4 North vase3 Heat dawn vase vase gray safari vase zorro indigo gray41 Gray safari rain mud past4 Zorro tundra zorro rain mud40 Rain4 Zorro north4 Yet zorro xenia past43 Zorro mud west4 Gray safari rain heat4 Gray rain north vase43 Base listed forest4 Dawn rain open open4 Mud vase ember vase indigo4 Tundra vase gray4 Gray safari vase4 Xenia safari zorro mud xenia vase4 Gray listed4 Vase heat xenia zorro kite vase40’_

I slammed my fist on the counter, barely hearing when something fell to the floor and shattered.

“Damn it!”

* * *

It had been years since I’d last seen that code, and I didn’t want to imagine what seeing it now would end up meaning. I slumped on my bed, staring off into space like I’d been doing most of the night. I didn’t try to keep the memories back this time, since for once, they were some of the few happy ones I had. I still couldn’t believe how much Tony had changed, almost like someone had flipped a switch on him…

“Nick, are you feeling okay?”

I turned my head, my eyes widening when I saw a gray bunny in sweats and a T-shirt.

“You’re still here, Fluff?”

“Mercy asked me to stay,” she walked to the bed. “Just in case you had another attack.”

I groaned, sitting up with my back to her.

“I wish I could say that was a one-time thing,” I muttered, crossing my arms. “But if things keep going this way, I doubt it will be.”

She sighed, the springs creaking a bit when she climbed up.

“My building’s also getting fumigated,” she went on. “Mercy said there was no point in me wasting money on a motel when there was so much extra room here.”

I stiffened when she brushed my tail, and I flicked it out of her reach.

“I know what you’re trying to do, Carrots,” I said. “But I’m not in the mood for talking, so please, just leave me alone.”

She didn’t, instead crawling closer and putting a paw on my shoulder.

“You’ve been acting like this since Mercy showed us that code,” she tightened her grip when I tried to move away. “What does it mean to you, Nick? Who else knows it?”

I barely glanced back at her, my breath catching when she wrapped her arms around my chest, felt her nuzzle into the fur at the back of my neck.

“Please, Nick,” she murmured. Was she actually crying? “I-I can’t stand the thought of you going through any more of this alone…”

I reached for her paws, but instead of pushing them away like I wanted to, I found myself holding them, my grip tightening as the last few days cycled through my mind again. I sighed.

“You should go, Judy,” I said eventually. I took her wrists and pulled them away, but I didn’t let them go. Part of me wanted to scare her off, to make her hate me, but I was tired of keeping everyone at arm’s length. As much as it scared me, I wanted to let her in, to fully trust her like she seemed to trust me, even if I still had no idea why. She shook her head, pressing her face deeper into my fur. “Judy, please…”

“No,” she said firmly, her voice muffled. Her breath huffed one last time against my skin, then I felt the weight of her chin on my shoulder. “I already said I’m not leaving you alone, and unlike most mammals, I don’t go back on my word.”

My breath caught again, and the next second I had to blink away tears.

“Then you’ll be waiting for quite a while, bunny,” I tried to smile, but it didn’t last. “It’s still too much for me to talk about right now.”

She hummed softly, my tail flicking when she pressed closer to me, then pulled away, crawling around until she sat in front of me.

“Then how about you just let me talk?” she said gently, waiting until I nodded, faint as it was. I couldn’t bring myself to care what she talked about now, I just wanted to hear her voice, to know she was close. My ears pricked when she touched my face, and I couldn’t miss how red hers was as she laid my head in her lap; I curled up next to her, feeling more peaceful than I had in years as she started petting me.

“That same coded message shows up on the profile of every mammal who’s gone savage, and then missing,” she kept her voice low. “And now that we know they’re all fans of your band, combined with the fact we found all those things from your family, it looks like whoever’s behind this is also targeting _you_.”

I’d already figured that much out for myself, but it was nice to hear someone else had drawn the same connections.

“But what I still don’t get is _why,_ ” she went on, her fingers tightening in my hair for a second. “I mean, what could someone like you have done to make a mammal hate you so much?”

I almost wanted to laugh, if she only knew the truth. There was a whole side of me the public knew nothing about, secrets not even those closest to me knew. And if things kept going the way they were, at least one of them was bound to come out, I just hoped I’d be able to face the backlash when it did.

 _I know I’d be better off just forgetting about her,_ I thought, unable to hold back a purr when she scratched my chin. _But if I did, it would probably kill me…_

* * *

 I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept that well, without having to drug myself first. Seeing that code again after so long still clawed at me, but I also couldn’t stop thinking about last night, how Carrots had not only let me get close to her, but had actually wanted me there. She’d already been gone when I’d woken up, but I’d still been able to smell her scent, had felt her paws even as I’d started falling asleep. Just how long had she stayed with me? I finished getting dressed, then headed down to the kitchen, seeing Mercy was the only one there.

“I was starting to wonder when you’d get up,” she smiled at me. “Judy said you were still sleeping like a baby when she left, and that was over two hours ago!”

“Two hours?” I glanced at the clock, it was already quarter to nine.

“Paul drove her,” she went on, looking more worried. “He’s been getting up early like that ever since Trevor disappeared.”

I wasn’t surprised. Paul was the most level-headed out of all of us, and it was always easy to tell when something was bugging him. He’d take off before anyone else was awake, and usually wouldn’t come back until he was sure we were all out for the night, or he’d head straight to his room and lock himself in without a word. Trevor usually just started breaking things.

“Nick?”

I blinked. When had I gotten to the counter, and how long had Mercy been staring at me?

“What?” I shook my head. “Did you say something?”

She sighed.

“I said something must have happened between you and Judy last night,” she started. “She was covered in your scent when she left, and you’re still covered in hers. You were also smiling like an idiot when you came in, which never freaking happens.”

I felt my face heat, snapping my ears back to hide how red they likely were. I cleared my throat.

“We just talked,” I barely kept from stuttering. “And we must have fallen asleep, yesterday wasn’t exactly easy.”

She cringed.

“Paul told me about that, Judy has to be the only one who’s been able to get near you when—”

“Look, can we not talk about it?” I cut her off, spitting out the first thing that came to mind. “And weren’t you the one who said we couldn’t trust her because she’s prey? What happened to that mindset?”

She blushed.

“I’ll admit, I didn’t trust her at first,” she said. “But just being around her the last few days has made me realize I was wrong about her. She really does think preds and prey can get along, and I’m already starting to believe we can, too. All we have to do is start trying.”

She looked at me again.

“I’ve also noticed how she looks at you, Nick,” she went on. “And how you’ve already started to look at her. You’re starting to fall for her, aren’t you?”

She sounded worried, and I couldn’t blame her. I didn’t exactly have the best dating history. I shoved out a breath.

“Maybe I am,” I didn’t see any point in denying it. “But you know as well as I do that it could never go anywhere.”

I shoved out a breath, answering before she had a chance to ask.

“We all know she can do better than me, and that I’m not exactly low on mammals who hate me, I don’t want to risk her becoming a target,” I swallowed. “And you know the media would use it as another point against her, they’d paint both of us as sick freaks of nature, and I’m not about to let that happen to her.”

She sputtered a second.

“B-But…none of that should matter!” she shouted. “The only important thing is how _you_ both feel!”

I scoffed.

“Believe me, I wish the world worked that way, too,” my voice was low, pathetic. “But she doesn’t deserve any of the shit you and I both know they’d throw at her, and I’m not about to let her risk everything she’s worked for, especially for just a poor excuse of a mammal like me.”

I could tell she wasn’t done arguing, and the second she opened her mouth again, I felt something snap.

“I don’t want her anywhere near this case, Mercy,” I growled, then stabbed myself in the chest with my thumb. “This is all happening because of something in _my_ past, because some psycho has a problem with _me,_ and I would rather die than see her, or any of you get killed because of it!”

I dropped to my knees, panting like I’d gone two miles in a dead sprint. I couldn’t believe I’d just blurted all that, but I already felt lighter than I had in days, even if I could still feel dread trying to drag me back down. I sat there a minute before pushing myself to my feet, dragging my paws down my face.

“I-I’m going for a run,” I finally managed. “I have to clear my head.”

I’d barely made it to the living room when a floorboard suddenly snapped under me, and the last thing I saw before the world went black was the corner of an end table coming straight for my head.

“Nick!”

_‘You thought you got away from me? Think again, sweetheart. I am back, and this time, you will never get the chance to escape.’_

* * *

“We keep telling you to fix the floors in that place,” Mercy admonished me. “But you always sucked at listening.”

I rolled my eyes, about all I could do without my head throbbing.

“They don’t sell wood like that anymore,” I reminded her for probably the fifth time in the last hour. “I’d have to tear up almost every floor in that place.”

I’d woken up at All Saints for the second time in a month, the muskrat shining a penlight in my eyes not too thrilled about it.

“I have more than enough to worry about without having to constantly patch you up,” she finally shut it off and put it away. I smirked at her. She’d been my doctor since I’d turned eighteen.

“What can I say, Doc?” I blinked, I was going to be seeing spots for days. “With beauties like you working here, I just can’t stay away!”

She rolled her eyes, just the reaction I’d been going for. She grabbed the tablet she’d left on my bed and flicked through a few screens.

“I see you’re still able to joke, Wilde, so it seems the concussion was even more mild than we thought,” she glared up at me. “However, I’m still going to advise that you avoid any strenuous activity for at least the next week, even the smallest head injury can become a serious problem if it gets jostled too much.”

I reached up, tracing the stitches for the first time, bandaged in a shaved patch at my temple. I remembered seeing the table, hearing Mercy scream just before I blacked out. Doc Muskrat shook her head when she saw me messing with it.

“The cut was also fairly shallow, but because of all the vessels in the face, you did lose some blood,” she looked at Mercy. “Luckily, Mercy and your team were able to get you here quickly, and we were able to stanch it before it got too serious.”

She keyed a few things into the tablet.

“I’m going to keep you the rest of the day for observation, I’ll be back to check on you after my rounds,” she glared at me again. “And remember, no strenuous movement, I don’t need to hear that you ripped out those stitches, or cracked your skull open because of your antics. I am warning you, Wilde.”

I held up my paws, flashing my most innocent smile.

“No need to be so hostile, Doc,” I said. “I promise I’ll listen to you this time.”

Mercy snickered behind her, and it took all I had not to laugh. She rolled her eyes again and walked out, pulling the curtain shut behind her. Mercy laughed.

“I swear, she’s got it out for you,” she walked to the bed and sat down. “What did you do to make her hate you so much?”

I shrugged, leaning back on my paws.

“My special brand of charm probably just rubs her the wrong way,” I smirked. “It can happen.”

She groaned, took my phone from her pocket and started messing with it.

“I feel so sorry for Ed and Rocco sometimes,” she said. “They’re the only ones responsible for keeping you out of trouble in public, I’m surprised they haven’t quit yet.”

I chuckled.

“They wouldn’t, I pay them too much.”

She groaned, finishing whatever she was doing on my phone before shoving it in her pocket.

“Paul will be here in a few minutes, he says he has a surprise for you,” she got up and went to the curtain. “I’m going to find the cafeteria, there has to be something there us preds can eat. You want anything?”

I started to shake my head, stopping when my gut decided to twist.

“If I eat something now, I’ll probably hack,” I put a paw over my mouth. “Just get me some water or something.”

She smirked, throwing up the two-finger salute we used as kids.

“You got it, boss.”

She left, and I laid back, getting as comfortable as I could in an ED bed. It was obvious the real cash went to the ones in ICU. The only thought that would stick was that message Mercy had shown us yesterday. My brothers and I had come up with that code when we were kids, not long before everything between us had started turning to shit. I still wasn’t sure what exactly had caused Tony to snap like that, but thinking back now, I was starting to get an idea.

I sat up when the curtain slid open, my jaw dropping when I saw who it was.

“J-Judy…”

She blushed, clutching a water bottle almost half her size. The next thing I knew, she was in the bed with me, her arms around my neck as she buried her face in it.

“Oh, Nick,” everything about her was shaking. “T-Thank God you’re all right…”

I hesitated before hugging her, ignoring the whispers I could hear from the other side of the curtain.

“I’m sorry I scared you like that, Carrots,” I said quietly, my grip tightening slightly. She thumped my chest, which hurt more than I thought it would.

“D-Dumb fox…” she muttered, grabbing the front of my hospital gown. “Why are _you_ apologizing?”

She pulled away, sniffling as she swiped at her eyes with her arm. Was she really crying over me, an idiot she barely knew?

“I-I’m sorry I left this morning, Nick,” she went on, her gaze wavering a bit as she focused on me. It was the first time I’d noticed how pretty she was. “I-I wish I could say it was because of work, but the truth is I was terrified.”

“What?” I looked at her. “Of what?”

She swallowed.

“T-That you wouldn’t remember what happened when you woke up,” she was trying not to look at the bandage, I could tell. “O-Or that you would and end up hating me afterward…”

“Hate you?” I couldn’t believe I’d just heard that from her. “What makes you think I could hate you?”

Her breath hitched.

“B-Because I saw you when you were vulnerable,” she said, then locked eyes with me. “I-I’ve seen and read all your interviews, Nick, and while you’ve never said it outright, I know that you hate appearing weak in front of others. It’s the whole reason you act like such a hard-ass.”

I chuckled.

“I’m afraid you’ve only got part of the reason there, Fluff,” I brushed a tear from her cheek. It was amazing how easy it was for me to open up to her, even more so how it didn’t completely terrify me. “The rest is because girls just seem to love that act.”

She giggled, just what I’d been going for.

“I can’t deny that,” she put her head on my shoulder, cuddling closer to me. The part of me that still didn’t trust anyone came up again, saying she was pushing the boundaries and that it was time for her to go. But I ignored it, simply because the rest of me just didn’t want to let her go, even if I still couldn’t quite understand why. “But, Nick, what _did_ happen to you at that warehouse?”

I went stiff, I should’ve known she’d ask eventually.

“It was…a kind of panic attack,” it was the best I could come up with. I didn’t think I could explain it to her, not yet. I shoved out a breath. “This case is bringing up a lot of crap I don’t want to remember. I thought I could handle it, but it’s scaring the shit out of me.”

I glanced at her, my ears falling when I saw the look on her face. I hated seeing her like that, worried and scared. I swallowed.

“A-And there’s something else, something I’m not sure you want to hear…” I dragged in a breath, no going back now. “The truth is I don’t know why I feel like I can trust you like this, I still barely know you…”

I wrapped an arm around her.

“A-And I’m just so used to being screwed with and pushed around,” I went on, then swallowed again. “But even with all that, I can’t deny how important you are to me, and I doubt that’ll change any time soon.”

She just looked at me, and it was the first time I noticed what color her eyes were: lavender, just like the flowers my mom had loved. She dragged a paw down my chest, my heart starting to race when she put it in mine.

“I’d be lying if I said I understood what you’re going through right now, to feel like every bad thing in your life is coming for you at once,” she focused on our paws, how small hers was compared to mine. “But you’re important to me, too, and even if it weren’t my job, I’d still do everything I could to help you find Trevor, I promise.”

She nuzzled my neck, and I couldn’t stop my tail from curling over her.

“And Nick?” her breath huffed against my skin, making my fur stand on end. “Thank you.”

“F-For what?”

I felt her smile, and her fingers slipped between mine.

“For just being you.”

I chuckled.

“Anything for you, sweetheart.”

* * *

  _“What do you think, Nicky?”_

_I looked up at the faces smiling at me. I finally had a mommy and a daddy all my own, even if they weren’t like me. I smiled back at them, hopping in place._

_“We have a big house!”_

_They laughed. I liked hearing them laugh._

_“Yes, we do, Nicky,” Mommy walked to some big stairs. “Tony, come down and meet your new little brother!”_

_The word sounded funny. I looked up at Daddy._

_“Brother?”_

_He nodded, getting on his knees and putting his big hoof on my shoulder._

_“That’s right, son, and we hope you’ll have another one very soon,” he turned me when someone came down the stairs. “And Nicky, this is Tony, your new big brother.”_

_He was different colors than Mommy or Daddy, had they picked him out special, too? He looked at me with a funny face._

_“Why is he a fox?”_

I shook my head. That was the first time my parents had brought me home, the first time I’d met Tony. And what was happening now only made it sting more.

“Nick?”

I blinked. Paul was standing by the curb, watching me. Like the doc had said, I was out that afternoon, but he was the only one who’d stuck around. Carrots had taken her lunch break early to come see me, and Mercy didn’t want to be in public longer than she had to. We hadn’t had any trouble with Brandon, no one had even spotted him yet, but we all knew from experience that he was just biding his time.

“Sorry,” I caught up to him, touching the cut and wincing. Whatever they’d given me in there was starting to wear off. “I think that fall scrambled my head.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” he climbed in his car, tapping the wheel as he waited for me. I had to move like I was a hundred if I didn’t want to start seeing double. “You sure you’re up for tonight?”

I’d invited Carrots back to my place as she’d left, saying it was time for her to see I wasn’t ‘just a musician’. I waved a paw.

“I just need some pain killers,” I fixed my seatbelt. “I’ll be fine.”

* * *

 “So, Paul, was Nick lying when he said he could cook?”

I glared over my shoulder. The door to the dining room was closed, but I could hear her clear as day.

 _You’ve been asking that since you_ got _here, Carrots…_

Paul groaned.

“You’ve been asking that for the last hour already, Judy,” he complained. She sighed.

“That’s because no one will answer me!”

I rolled my eyes, turning off the oven and taking the pan out. I set it on the stove and grabbed the bottle I’d tossed on the counter, popping a couple pills in my mouth; I’d always been kind of a wuss when it came to pain. I swallowed them dry, grabbed the pan again and hit the dining room.

“That’s because no one can accurately explain my culinary genius,” I shouldered the door open, smirking when I saw Carrots sitting on a stack of old phone books. “Nice booster seat, Fluff.”

She huffed, her ears flicking up when her nose started twitching.

“Wow, that smells amazing!”

I chuckled, setting it on the hot plate in the middle of the table. I peeled off the foil, uncovering what was as close to my mom’s spinach lasagna as I could get. She stood, leaning over the table to smell it again.

“Did you really _make_ this?”

“With my own two paws,” I sat across from her, chuckling at the look on her face. “So, still think I’m ‘just a musician’?”

She smirked at me, sitting down and folding her paws.

“It smells and looks great,” she said. “But the real test is _tasting_ great.”

“Of course it does,” Mercy cut into it and started dealing out pieces. “We were starting to think you’d never make this again, Nick!”

“Not that your other stuff’s not as good,” Paul added quickly. “I think some of it might even be, uh…”

I laughed, waving a paw.

“I get it, don’t hurt yourself,” I glanced at Carrots, her paws pressed to her mouth as she snickered. She really was adorable. “So what do you think, Fluff? Does it pass the taste test?”

She finished laughing, then cut a corner off the piece in front of her, I should’ve thought more about how thick to make it, nibbling at it before jamming the rest of the bite in her mouth.

“I’d say it’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted!” she had a big, dopy grin on her face. “Where on earth did you learn to cook like this, Nick?”

I chuckled, but the sound faded fast.

“My mom,” I stared at the table. "My grandfather was a world-class chef, and she learned from him. Dad was always busy, and as we got older, Tony was never around, so most of the time it was just her, me and Finnick.”

I glanced up. Her fork was loaded again, halfway to her mouth when she put it down.

“Finnick?”

I tried to swallow past the sudden rock in my throat.

“My…baby brother,” I tried not to grab at my chest; I couldn’t believe how much it still hurt, even just to think about him. I shoved out a breath. “Anyway, we both learned to cook from her, though I’m sure he would’ve ended up better than me, he always was.”

I laughed softly, the sound just as hollow as I felt.

“He was the one who decided to start making that code Mercy found on those profiles,” I added. “We were pretty much inseparable when we were kids…”

I trailed off, the memories overwhelming me, just like they always did. He’d only been a few days old when they’d brought him home, though I couldn’t stop wondering why they had, with how Tony had started acting toward me. But then they hadn’t known about that, not until it was too late.

I pressed a paw to my chest as they kept coming, doing everything I could to push back the pain. I’d already broken down in front of her more than once, and I didn’t want her to have to see me like that again. I pushed back from the table and dropped to the floor, fighting to stay upright.

“Nick?”

They were all staring at me, Carrots on her feet and leaning over the table again. I saw the looks in Paul’s and Mercy’s eyes, knew they were filled with the same unshed tears that mine were. I shook my head, shoving a paw through my hair and rubbing the bandage on my temple.

“I-I’m fine,” I managed faintly, still hearing my voice break. “I’m just more tired than I thought, I-I’m going to turn in…”

I slipped out before they could say anything, pressing my back to the door. I stopped trying to hold the tears back, letting them slide down my face as I stared at my paws, flashing back to the blood I felt like I could never wash off. I’d done everything I could to help Fin, but in the end, it hadn’t been enough. I clenched my fists, shoving away from the door and heading upstairs.

I could hear them talking, Ed and Jeremy joining in as they started their break. I barely stopped myself from punching a hole through my door when I shut it behind me, not bothering to lock it. I stared at the few pictures I’d hung up, copies of the ones sitting in a box in some ZPD evidence room. Why was all of this coming up now, when preds were losing their minds and vanishing? What the hell was the connection?

My head hurt too much to keep thinking about it. I went to my bed and ducked under the blanket, crawling to the middle and curling up in a ball. We had to put a stop to all this, and soon, because I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be able to take it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple people have asked what Nick looks like in JANitB, and I haven’t been too forward with answering because I haven’t been able to settle on something before now (how sad is that?):  
> He’s a bit shorter than the movie, about a third of an ear-length, and a lot more muscular. He has two scars on his right shoulder that angle toward the middle of his chest but don’t quite reach that point, and later he gets a small vertical one over his heart. There’s two on his face that start above his right eye; the top one hits his eyebrow before stopping just after it crosses the top of his muzzle. The bottom one grazes the corner of his eye and stops just before his muzzle, and he keeps his hair (or headfur, whichever it is) long enough to help hide them. His neck fur’s always mussed because he never stops messing with it, and his default expression is more neutral with some faint anger to it, if that makes any sense. He also dresses like a stereotypical punk rocker—dark jeans, vests, that sort of thing—when he’s not wearing those goofy Hawaiian shirts. The last thing is he’s more rigid with his posture, always ready to move or react if he needs to, and he still wears those aviator sunglasses from the movie, except the frames are black. He also wears a watch with a black strap, so he doesn’t have to keep pulling out his phone to check the time.  
> Well, that ended up longer than I planned, but hopefully it helps answer those questions!


	4. Chapter 4

It was almost noon before I managed to drag myself out of bed, and that was only because Mercy had been banging on my door for ten minutes straight.

“Nick, will you get up already?!” she smacked it again. “We finally caught a break!”

That got my ass moving; I ran to the door and yanked it open.

“What do you mean?” I stared up at her. “What happened?”

She just grabbed my paw, dragging me downstairs to the living room. Paul was staring at the wall, looking more pissed off than I’d thought him capable of. Carrots was sitting next to him, her face twisted like she was about to start crying.

“What happened?” I leaned back on the edge of the coffee table. She rubbed her eyes.

“Paul and I spent all morning talking to the victims’ families,” she glanced at him. “At least, trying to, most of them didn’t really feel like talking with us…”

He growled.

“What she means is it was a complete waste of time,” he crossed his arms. “Most of them just slammed the door in our faces when they saw Judy, and the ones who didn’t had to basically be threatened with obstruction before they gave us anything useful.”

I watched Carrots’ ears drop, not that they’d been all that perked to start with.

“It’s true, they were just fine when they thought it was just Paul, but the second they saw me…” she trailed off, shaking her head. “I mean, I knew there was still a lot of animosity between predators and prey, you even see it out in Bunnyburrow, but I never thought it was this bad!”

She snapped her laptop shut and shoved it aside, curling up in a ball. I rubbed the front of my neck, swallowing as I remembered what had caused _those_ scars. Trevor and Mercy had them, too, but Paul had been lucky, he’d only been eleven when those damn things had finally been outlawed.

“The city’s not nearly as progressive as the mammals in charge like to preach it is,” I spoke up. “But it actually used to be even worse for preds, if you can believe it.”

She barely moved, shifting her head just enough for me to see the corner of her eye.

“It’s true,” I went on. While we’d never been outright banned from any part of the city, we’d been pretty restricted about where we could go, and not get treated like shit every step of the way. Everything had been separate: stores, banks, schools, even parks. They’d always been smaller, cheaper, sometimes to the point we wondered why prey bothered to build them for us at all. When we had been able to get jobs, they were the down and dirty crap prey hadn’t wanted, or some kind of grunt work that had always been temporary. A lot of us had also ended up orphans, since our parents had often had to work themselves into early graves just to make the poverty line. “Did you know they used to make us wear ‘tame’ collars?”

She did look up at that, though barely.

“I-I’ve heard about them,” she managed. “But I never thought they could actually be real. You’re saying…they were?”

“We’d get them when we turned thirteen,” Mercy sat on the arm of the couch. “If we got too mad, too excited, too anything, really, they’d shock us. And the more it happened, the worse the shocks got.”

“What?!” Carrots jolted like she’d been hit in the spine. “That’s barbaric!”

“That’s what we all said, but they made us wear them, anyway,” Mercy rubbed at her neck. “It took a serial killer turning them into a weapon for the city to finally outlaw them.”

Carrots’ mouth dropped open.

“Please tell me you’re joking…”

Mercy shook her head.

“I wish I was, Judy, but it’s true,” she swallowed. “I can’t remember how long it took them to catch the guy, but he invoked a different emotion with each victim, making the collars shock them until their hearts gave out.”

She shuddered.

“And I’ll never forget this, he had video of his victims _volunteering_ for it, if it meant showing prey just how psychotic the collars were,” she stared at the floor. “I’ll always despise the fact it took mammals getting killed, but I’ll always be so thankful to them for causing the change.”

None of us missed the chill that came in the air after that. I shivered, grabbing Carrots’ laptop and sitting next to her.

“So, what was this big breakthrough Mercy was going on about?” I smirked, hoping to lighten the mood. “Was it worth almost getting my door smashed in?”

She chuckled, or at least tried to.

“Let’s hope so.”

She took the laptop from me and woke it up, going back to what they must’ve been watching before Mercy got me: street cameras for the Nocturnal District.

“According to the report Clawhauser sent me, the last mammal to go savage was a leopardess, Julianna Stays. Her mate was pretty much the only friendly face we saw,” she flashed a small smile. “He said they were coming back from a lunch date when she complained about getting stung by something, and a few second later, she attacked him.”

“He managed to fight her off,” Paul went on. “And this is where things start getting weird. He said she just stared at him after he got, then bolted. He went after her, heard her growl, then an engine, but when he got to the spot, the vehicle was already gone, and so was she.”

“She couldn’t have had more than a two minute lead on him,” her paws started flying over the keyboard. “He said he spotted a camera on a tree nearby, and that it would probably give us the best chance of finding her,”

She glanced around the map before pulling up a feed, her eyes widening as we watched it play out. Julianna slid in on a pile of dead leaves, and a second later a black van pulled up. The two mammals that got out were masked and dressed in full bodysuits, the one in front firing at her with a net launcher.

“They catch her, drag her to the van, then drive off, less than thirty seconds,” she sat back. “Whoever’s been making these mammals vanish, they’re clearly experts.”

“Yeah, but _where_ are they making them vanish to?” Paul asked. “All this is pretty useless if we can’t figure that part out.”

Carrots messed with the feeds again.

“Well, let’s see if we can find out.”

We watched the van take the shortest route out of the district, toward Sahara Square, but it never showed up on the camera at the mouth of the tunnel.

“Wait, where’d they go?”

She backtracked, the van driving into the Nocturnal end before its little disappearing act. I leaned closer, nudging her paws aside and screwing with the feeds myself.

“They must have turned off at another tunnel, they clearly don’t want to be caught on camera too long,” I searched around a bit more, smiling when I caught sight of the van again. “Got ‘em, heading out maintenance tunnel 5N.”

She looked at me, then back at the screen.

“Where’s that go?”

“It opens in the outer city wall,” I switched to the last camera. The narrow road passed over a low hill, and if I remembered right, didn’t have any turn-offs. “Judging by that, there’s only one place they could be headed.”

I pulled back, trying to ignore the knot that had formed in my gut.

“It’s time to visit the old Meadowbrook Psychiatric Hospital.”

* * *

We decided Paul and Mercy would sit this one out. Neither of them were much good at stealth, and Carrots and I were smaller, which meant we were less likely to be caught.And if we wanted to get out of this in one piece, we’d have to be invisible.

It took almost forty-five minutes to get to Meadowbrook, it had been built on a piece of land between the city and Podunk, surrounded on all sides by a lot of thick forest. It was the first time it’d been this silent between us, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one thinking about all the ways things to go wrong, and how we’d get ourselves out if it did. And because the street camera system didn’t go beyond the wall, combined with the fact the place had shut down over a decade ago, we had almost no idea what we were really about to get ourselves into.

“Uh, hey, Carrots?” I turned off the main road, coasting along a short dirt path I’d spotted through a break in the trees. The sun was already setting, meaning my sleek black low-rider would be invisible soon. She didn’t answer, doing a final check of the dart gun she always had with her. Lethal firearms weren’t outlawed, getting them was such a pain in the ass that most mammals didn’t even bother with them. “What’s the plan, if we do end up finding Stays?”

I climbed out when she did, locking the car and shoving my keys in my pocket.

“I’ll tranq her if I have to,” she said, sliding it in the holster on her hip. “But even if we don’t find her, I still want to gather some evidence. Anything we find here could prove to be what cracks case open.”

“Uh-huh,” I grabbed her arm when she tried to walk past me. “You know that place could be crawling with guards, right? Have you even thought about how we’ll get past them?”

I had some ideas of my own, but I wanted to make sure we both had something in case things went to shit.

“Well, uh…” she hesitated, and I just knew she was trying to think up a lie. She’d been pretty easy to read from the start, but after spending two months with her, I doubted there was anything she could hide from me. “N-Not exactly, no. We didn’t have any way of finding out the extent of what we’ll be dealing with, so as much as I hate the idea, we’ll have to make it up as we go along.”

I rolled my eyes.

“And you called _me_ unprepared…”

“Oh, shush,” she looked me up and down. “At least I’ve got my tranq gun on me, how do you plan on defending yourself if we _do_ run into trouble?”

I smirked, slipping a paw in my pocket, and a half-second later her nose was twitching an inch from the tip of my knife. I’d modeled it after an old trench knife, giving it a spring-loaded blade that could fold into the handle, which on its own was a decent set of brass knuckles. Thankfully I’d almost never needed more than that in a fight, at least not yet.

“I know you’re not supposed to bring these to something that might turn into a gun fight,” I pulled it back and spun it on one finger, folding it with a flick of my wrist. “But at least it’s something.”

I put it away and started walking, and it wasn’t long before she caught up to me.

“Anything more than a kitchen knife is about as hard to get as a gun,” she gawked at me. “How’d you manage to get your paws on _that_?”

I shrugged.

“It’s custom-made, I’ve had it for years,” I’d tell her the whole story later. “I never go anywhere without it.”

“And what about your stitches?” she went on after a second. “Didn’t the doctor tell you to take it easy?”

I brushed the bandage on my head, I’d pretty much forgotten about it once we’d started planning this.

“I’ll be fine, I’ve done more than this after worse injuries. Besides,” I looked down at her. “I wasn’t about to let you do this alone.”

She scowled.

“We wouldn’t _be_ alone if you’d let me call for back-up,” she argued. “Why’d you insist on coming here by ourselves?”

I smirked.

“For one thing, they’d arrest me on the spot, it’s against the law to be this sexy,” I laughed when she facepalmed, it was too easy to get that reaction out of her. “Seriously, though, this city’s got more problems than you might realize, I don’t want to risk the cops wasting their time out here. There’s still a chance this might end up being nothing.”

“But there’s too much of a chance it’s _not_ nothing, Nick,” she shot back. “Those mammals wouldn’t have brought Julianna here unless—”

“Hold up,” I dropped to one knee, pulling her down with me. I could see the building through the trees now, they must have ripped that mile-high fence out, and from the looks of it, there was a ski mask convention going on inside. I turned back to her. “And how do you think all of _them_ would react if they saw a bunch of cars, cruisers or not, suddenly coming up the road?”

I glared at her when she tried to argue again.

“We’ve got the element of surprise, and we need to use it while we can,” I took her shoulders. “We need to find a way past those guards, and once we’re inside, _then_ we can worry about finding those missing mammals, and you can call for the back-up you so desperately want.”

I leaned closer, sure I’d never sounded more serious in my life.

“But for now, we’re going to do this my way, so keep your voice down and do what I tell you, get it?”

She stared at me, her mouth hanging open. It wouldn’t surprise me if I was the first one to talk to her like that. And for once, she didn’t try to face off with me. She just nodded.

“Good,” I stayed in a crouch, keeping below the bushes as I started moving. “So let’s get going.”

Just as I’d hoped, they’d focused the firepower out front, leaving just a couple guards at the back entrance. One waited around by the door, the other pacing the lot, coming within a couple feet of where we were hiding. The guy’s bodysuit even covered his tail, but I could tell from his size that he was a fox, or a really short wolf or something. I turned to Carrots, and I hadn’t realized until then how close she was, I could see my reflection in her eyes.

“Okay, here’s what we do,” my voice was so low, I was sure even she could barely hear it. “Next time that guy comes around, I’ll grab him, knock him out and swipe his little uniform. I’ll tell the other guard I caught you snooping around, and ask where we lock up trespassers. Once we’re in, we’ll split up and search. Got it?”

She nodded again, and I could’ve sworn I saw pride flash across her face. I ignored the spark it sent through me, turning back to see the guy had walked right past us. Remembering I still had my phone on me, I pulled it out and put it on silent.

“Do the same with yours,” I set it in the grass, creeping forward as I got ready to grab the guy. “I don’t want your obnoxiously loud ringtone going off and getting us caught.”

She rolled her eyes, but did it away, crawling back as the guard came around again. I tensed as I got ready to move, just a few more seconds…

_Now!_

I made my move, slamming a paw over his mouth and dragging him back. He was out cold on the ground before he even knew what hit him.

“Damn, you’re fast,” she crept forward again. I shrugged, already starting to strip him.

“You don’t grow up as a pred in this city without learning how to fight dirty, especially if you’re a fox,” I pulled off his shirt, the mask coming with it. A gasp caught in my throat as I fell back on my ass. “God, no wonder he didn’t smell us…”

She took one look, then whipped her head away, her paws pressed to her mouth.

“ _Oh, sweet cheese and crackers…_ ”

The guy’s nose had been cut off, and the job had been anything but clean. I tried not to look at that dark blob of scar tissue as I finished emptying my pockets, dropping my knife and a roll of cash by my phone.

“Keep an eye on that, and no peeking,” I smirked again. “Don’t think I don’t know how that little bunny brain of yours works.”

She scowled, her ears bright red as she turned away.

“I-In your dreams, Wilde.”

I chuckled, peeling off the old sweats I’d pulled on after my shower, my nose wrinkling when I grabbed the other guy’s clothes.

“Ugh, smells like he’s been wearing them all week,” I held my breath as I tugged on the shirt. “But it should at least hide my scent long enough to fool the other guy.”

It was tighter than I’d thought it would be, but that just meant it’d be harder to catch me. I picked up the mask, giving Carrots a look when she stabbed him in the arm with a dart.

“This’ll keep him out a lot longer than just hitting him over the head,” she took the cuffs from her belt and snapped them on her wrists, her ears getting darker when she turned to me. “Uh, wow…”

I laughed again, shoving my crap in the big pocket on my thigh. I took her arm, bringing us both to our feet.

“Moment of truth,” I whispered. “Let’s see if we can pull this off.”

* * *

“You really need to work on your acting, Fluff.”

I let her go when we got inside, taking the key she held out to me and unlocking the cuffs. It turned out we hadn’t had to worry about the other guard not recognizing my voice, he hadn’t stopped yakking long enough for me to say anything. She shrugged, putting them back wherever she kept them.

“I’ve never been captured before, Slick,” she kept her voice low. “And I thought I did pretty well, I won a talent show in Bunnyburrow with my acting when I was nine!”

I yanked the mask off, the stink of that other fox was starting to suffocate me.

“Yeah, that’s quite the achievement,” I stuffed it in my other pocket. “I mean, you’re only what, twenty-four now?”

“Har, har,” she looked around. The only lights were the emergency ones lining the floor, more than enough for me, but I wasn’t sure about her. “Where are we, anyway?”

“An old storage room, we’re not too far from the loading bay,” I started walking, forcing back the memories trying to flood my head. The only real sounds were my claws on the floor, our breathing and the blood starting to pound in my ears. I jumped when she touched my arm, looking back to see her eyes narrowed, her mouth a thin line.

“I shouldn’t have let you come with me,” she said. “This has clearly gotten to be too much for you, and you’re way too close to it.”

She tightened her grip, pulling me down to her level.

“You’re going to stay here until _I_ finish investigating,” she went on. “The last thing we need right now is you having another attack and getting us caught.”

I stared at her, kneeling when my balance started going.

“Little late to be thinking like that, isn’t it, Fluff?” I reached up, brushing her cheek with the back of my paw. “And you’ve seen what trying to ignore all this has done to me, you know I need this, otherwise…”

I pulled back, my eyes dropping to the floor.

“I might never be able to move on with my life.”

I glanced up when she didn’t say anything, my eyes widening when I saw her trying to wipe away tears.

“Nick, I…” her ears dropped behind her head. “I-I never thought about it that way, but as much as I understand, I still don’t want you to be part of this anymore. Breaking this case might cause you more damage than it fixes.”

“We don’t know that,” I tilted her chin back. “But even if it does, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I sat back now, not when I know someone from _my_ past is responsible for all this. I have to at least make sure all these animals are safe, can you let me have that much?”

She looked at me, the sadness and fear in her eyes getting pushed back by her determination. It suited her a whole lot better.

“Yeah, okay,” she tried to smile. “Let’s get those missing mammals home.”

She looked around again as I got up, her enthusiasm already dimming.

“But…where do we even start?”

I thought a minute, trying to piece together what I remembered about this place.

“If I’m right, they’ll be in the high-risk area, that’s where I’d hold them, anyway,” I pulled out the mask and tugged it back on, watching as she did the same with the cuffs. “And I’m guessing that’s where they’d want to keep anyone they caught snooping, especially if they’re cops.”

I gripped her arm when we got to the door, hoping the stink of their unwashed friend would be enough to hide my scent from the other guards, at least until we got what we came for. I glanced at her, smiling when she steeled herself.

“Let’s do this.”

* * *

It was starting to look like the emergency lights were the only thing working in this place, and that whoever was in charge hadn’t thought someone would actually get inside.

“I haven’t seen anyone yet,” Carrots muttered. “Did they really only post guards outside?”

“Looks like it,” I glanced around, still forcing back memories. “Doesn’t surprise me, though, most of the city’s forgotten this place existed.”

She suddenly stopped, grabbing my wrist when I walked past her.

“Everything about this case has had some kind of connection to you,” she started. “So where does _this_ place fit into your past, Nick?”

I hesitated, wondering if I should tell her the first lie that came to mind, but I knew she’d see right through anything I said. There was also the fact she could find the information herself, anyway, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to take the pain she’d look at me with after, when she’d think I didn’t trust her enough to tell her the truth.

“I…spent a few months here,” I pulled her to the side, sitting against the wall. We both knew we didn’t have the time to waste, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to focus until I said it. And spacing out in enemy territory was one of the best ways to get your ass killed. “I’ll get into the details later, but I’d just been through every kind of hell, and they locked me up here to make sure my head was still screwed on straight. But I think _they_ caused more damage than they fixed.”

She looked confused.

“What do you mean?”

I shrugged.

“No one really seemed to know what they were doing. A lot of the patients here might as well have been in comas, since they were drugged and stuck in bed so often,” I shook my head. “I was one of the ‘lucky ones’, as they put it. I only needed meds to help me sleep, and since I was ‘just a kid’, they let me roam pretty much anywhere I wanted, as long as I didn’t try to leave.”

Not that I could have, they’d kept this place locked up more tightly than some prisons. I shuddered.

“I ended up seeing a lot of shit that shouldn’t happen outside a horror movie, and to this day I still get nightmares about it,” I stopped when I caught some fresh scents, my ears perking when I heard a door close, and then footsteps. I glanced around the corner, seeing an elk and cheetah on lab coats, following a lion in a suit.

“Is that…the mayor?”

Carrots grabbed my arm, her face blank in shock. I nodded.

“I knew he’d have to be involved somehow, with how quickly they’ve disappeared,” I pulled back, taking her with me. “Animals going savage would be bad enough on its own, but since they’ve all been preds, it’s even worse for him,” I scowled. “He probably thinks he’ll be impeached or something if he doesn’t find out what’s causing it.”

Not that there was much chance of that happening. He’d run virtually unopposed the last four elections, and I knew most of the city would rather he stay in power than have the assistant mayor climb up the ladder. The little sheep put on a good ‘sweet and innocent’ act, with a lot of incompetence thrown in for good measure, but it was no secret how much she hated preds. There’s already been several incidents where she’s tried putting tame collars back into play, and each time there’s been more mammals screaming to kick her out. But for some reason, it never happened.

“Let’s follow them,” I whispered, unlocking her cuffs when she passed me the key. “And turn your camera on, we may be able to get even more than we bargained for.”

* * *

Lionheart was going right where I’d expected him to, but the talk the three of them were throwing out was anything but.

“We haven’t figured out exactly how these mammals are going savage,” the cheetah explained, her voice flat steel. “But we have concluded that it isn’t happening naturally.”

The elk flicked through some things on his tablet, but I couldn’t catch what he was looking at. Carrots and I kept a couple yards back, her phone up and taking video. I shook my head when he fumbled to catch up.

“I believe we’re getting close to figuring it out, though, sir,” he sounded even younger than the cheetah, probably fresh out of med school. “There are only a few components we haven’t been able to isolate yet, but there doesn’t seem to be any compounds, natural or synthetic, capable of causing all the changes we’re seeing.”

Lionheart stopped short, his paws balled into fists.

“So what you’re telling me is, you have nothing and aren’t making any headway,” he turned on the coats. “Is that right?”

They stopped, and it was hard to miss how much the elk was shaking. He gulped.

“I-I’m afraid so, sir,” he straightened a bit. “B-But we _are_ close to a breakthrough, I-I can feel it!”

“Just ‘feeling it’ isn’t enough, Hoofward,” Lionheart snapped. It was obvious how much he was restraining himself. “So get your tail back in that lab and get me some damned results!”

Hoofward jumped, scrambling to keep hold of his tablet before taking off ahead, hitting the wall when he careened around a corner. Something beeped, then a door slammed shut, it almost sounded like an airlock. The cheetah cleared her throat, getting the lion’s attention again.

“Have you gotten any updates from Bogo?” she asked. “Are the police any closer to finding whoever’s behind this?”

He seethed a second, then forced himself to chill, running a paw over his mane as he cleared his throat.

“Bogo doesn’t know, not yet,” he smoothed out his suit. “But my sources tell me several officers believe that they’re close, the problem is none of them have anything concrete.”

I tuned out after that, motioning for Carrots to stay where she was. I took advantage of their little talk, using the distraction to slip past toward the high-security area. There was a set of heavy doors at each end of the hall that locked automatically if the alarm was tripped, the hall itself lined on both sides with cells, fronted with the same shatter-proof glass as the one Trevor had been locked in at All Saints. It was just as dark as the rest of this place had been so far.

I took out my phone and started recording, my instincts snapping at me to run every time one of the captive mammals looked at me. I tensed, waiting for one of them to jump at me, growling and snarling like Trevor had, but other than the slit eyes that followed me, it looked like I was the only thing capable of moving.

“They’ve been drugged,” I held my phone close to my mouth. “And it looks like there still haven’t been any prey victims, at least not that they’ve found.”

I started up the other side, my fur still standing on end. I’d counted sixteen victims, each one a different species. How many were there going to end up being? Why were they all fans of my band? Why had that code shown up on their Furbook profiles? I’d pissed off a lot of mammals in the past, kind of impossible with how I’d grown up, but I’d never thought one of them could hate me enough to hurt others, especially ones that had nothing to do with any of it.

My paw tightened on my phone. It pissed me off to no end, knowing I was somehow the cause of all this, and that there didn’t seem to be a damn thing we could do to stop it. I stopped recording when I finished the loop, my fingers brushing against my knife when I shoved my phone back in my pocket. All part of me wanted to do was find the first mammal I could and rip them to shreds with it. I was more than capable of it, I knew that, but that wasn’t who I was anymore. It never really had been, it was a role I’d been forced into, and one I regretted to this day.

 _I’m sorry everyone,_ I turned back to the hall, my gut clenching when I heard them. _I’ll get you out of this, I swear it._

I froze when I heard voices, ducking into the first empty room I saw when the doors behind me started opening. They’d been made with the biggest species in mind, the metal rim at the base of the sliding door more than enough to hide me. I cursed to myself when I saw another scientist, a jackal this time, Carrots slung over his shoulder. He laughed, grabbing her tail as she struggled.

“Shame you’re so tiny,” he grabbed the back of her shirt, holding her out at arm’s length, cracking up when she punched and kicked at him. “You’ve got a pretty nice ass, and I like ‘em fiery, but I’d break you before I even got close.”

He threw her in the same room I was in, pulling the door shut before she even got to her feet.

“But you won’t have to stay in there long, honey,” he sneered at her. “It’s almost feeding time.”

He laughed again and walked out, the door slamming shut behind him. I let her fume for a while, taking the time to try and calm myself down. I’d wanted to skin the guy for treating her like that.

“Sweet cheese and crackers,” she tugged at her ears. “Freaking carrot sticks, fluffing sugar honey iced tea!”

“Quite the mouth you’ve got there, Fluff,” I sat up, digging my claws into my leg to try and keep from losing it. I just hoped she didn’t notice. “I won’t have to tell your parents, will I?”

She groaned, mashing her eyes with her paws.

“Just stuff it, Wilde,” she came over and plopped down next to me, taking out her phone. “You’re just lucky I have a back-up plan.”

She tapped out a text, not looking surprised when it said it couldn’t be sent.

“Just as I thought,” she put it away, leaning against my side. “They’ve got something here that blocks outside reception, so anything other than their tablets and phones are just expensive paperweights,” she actually smiled a bit. “I got the idea to text Clawhauser while you were changing in those bushes. I said we were chasing a lead, and that if he didn’t hear back from me in three hours to send back-up to this location.”

She snuggled against me, yawning.

“And we’ve only got about an hour and a half left, so all we have to do is sit tight until…”

She yawned again, bigger this time. I chuckled, yanking off the mask and dropping it next to me. I was nose-blind to the stink by now, but it was still a lot easier to breathe without it. I pulled her into my lap, putting her head on my shoulder.

“Not the best, but still more comfortable than the floor,” I smirked at her. “And since we’ve got the time, why not take advantage of it?”

She giggled, grabbing the shirt and nuzzling me. I didn’t try to ignore the jolt it sent through me.

“Fine, but you’re taking a shower after this,” she smoothed a paw down my chest. “This thing reeks.”

I chuckled.

“You read my mind, Fluff, you read my mind.”

* * *

I hadn’t realized we’d both dozed off until a shrieking alarm pulled me out of it, even if it was kind of muted by the glass. Carrots stared around a second before pushing off of me, bolting to the door and doing whatever she could to try and open it.

“Don’t bother, Carrots,” I got up, rubbing my back. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d just sat on the floor like that. “I was locked in here a lot, and once these doors shut, the only way out is if a lab coat cards you out.”

“B-But,” she turned to me, starting to panic a bit. “But that’s the _fire_ alarm, a-all the exits should be unlocked now!”

I shook my head.

“That’s not the fire alarm,” I explained. “That’s the ‘violent patient is loose’ alarm. Every patient in this place made them throw it at least once, something big must be going down.”

She whipped back to the door, her ears straining forward to catch any sound they could. But there was nothing to hear except the alarm, and the panicked screeches and yowls of savage preds trying to get away from it. I looked at the ceiling, already knowing what would come next. I grabbed the mask from the floor and shoved it in her paws, making her hold it to her face.

“I know that thing reeks,” I pointed to the ceiling, the vents were already starting to open. “But those vents up there are going to start spitting gas any second, and I don’t want you getting caught in it.”

She stared up at me, her eyes wide with fear.

“But…But what about you?” she pulled the mask down. “I can’t just—!”

“It’s fine,” I guided her paws back to her face. “I’ve been hit with the gas before, and after the last few weeks I’ve had, I could use the nap. I’ll be fine, Carrots.”

She kept staring at me, then nodded, going to the corner and curling up in it. I tugged the shirt over my muzzle, looking up again when the gas started hissing through. I knew the mask wouldn’t be enough for her, but I felt better knowing she had it. I went over and sat next to her, pulling her in my lap again.

“Don’t worry, Carrots,” I put an around her. My head was feeling heavy, and I knew it wouldn’t be much longer. “I’m right here with you, I always will be…”

The last thing I felt was her snuggling closer to me.

* * *

_Daddy put me on his shoulder, both of us looking down at Mommy. She had a little blanket in her hooves, a blue one that was wrapping up something that wiggled._

_“What is that, Daddy?” I tried to slide off. “Why’s it moving like that?”_

_He laughed, taking me in his hooves and putting me on the couch next to Mommy. She held up the blanket, pulling part of it off to show me a little face._

_“This is your new baby brother, Nicky,” she laughed when the baby grabbed her hoof. “Finnick, this is Nicky.”_

_I looked down t him. He was sucking on her finger, the blanket falling off his big ears._

_“What is he, Mommy?”_

_“He’s a fox, son,” Daddy said. “Just like you.”_

_I shook my head._

_“Nuh-uh, I’m red, he’s brown, we’re different.”_

_Daddy laughed. It was a big sound._

_“You’re both still foxes, son,” he put a hoof on my shoulder. “He’s a fennec fox.”_

_“Fen-nec?” I looked at Finnick. He grabbed Mommy’s hoof again, laughing when she tickled him. “You guys are zebras, right?” I looked up at them. They looked at each other, and Daddy nodded._

_“That’s right, Nicky, we’re zebras.”_

_“That means you’re prey,” I said. “But you picked me and Finnick. Kids at school call me a pred-tor, and my teachers say—“_

_“Nicky,” Daddy picked me up again. I looked up at him. “It doesn’t matter what species we all are, or what anyone else might say. All three of you are our sons, and nothing will ever change that.”_

_He kissed my head. I squirmed._

_“Daddy, I’m not a baby!”_

_He and Mommy laughed. I liked making them laugh._

* * *

  _“Hurry up, Nick, we’re going to be late!”_

_“Coming!”_

_I tied my neckerchief, just like Tony had showed me. Tonight was my first Junior Ranger Scouts meeting, a chance for me to finally be part of a pack. Even if I was the only pred in the troop._

_“Nick!”_

_“I’m coming!”_

_I ran downstairs. Tony was standing by the door with his hooves in his pockets, looking so cool in his full-fledged Ranger Scouts uniform. I couldn’t wait until I got my chance to wear one._

_“About time,” Tony turned around and went for the door. “Time to get going, Squirt!”_

_I groaned._

_“Told you not to call me that!”_

_He shrugged._

_“Tough. Until you’re taller than me, you’re stuck with it.”_

_I stuck my tongue out at him, we both knew I’d never get bigger than him. I hopped down the stairs to the car, Mom was already there, laughing as she tried to make Fin sit still long enough to get him in his car seat._

_“I can never get this, it’s just too small,” she looked at us, still smiling. “Nicky, could you help me with this?”_

_“Sure,” I jumped up and grabbed him, tickling him until he squirmed to get away._

_“No tickle, no tickle!”_

_I laughed._

_“Hold still, then,” I told him. “You’re not a jumping bean!”_

_“I am, too!” he started hopping around to prove it, and almost fell off the seat. Tony groaned, and Mom just laughed again._

_“Just get him in there!” he got in behind me and dropped in his own seat. “We’re already late!”_

_“I got it, I got it!” I finally got Fin to hold still. “Keep your shirt on!”_

_“Nicky!” Mom scolded me. I winced._

_“Sorry, Mom!”_

* * *

_I felt like crap. I’d been riding my bike in the park when I’d lost control and ended up falling in the duck pond. Dad had been pissed that I’d wrecked it less than a week after we’d finished fixing it up, but he’d gotten over it pretty fast once I’d started getting sick. It was the first time since I’d been a kid, and apparently the last time had been a pretty close call. I sneezed again, groaning when I knocked over the tissue box Mom had left on my nightstand. I couldn’t even move to get it without my head spinning._

_“Nick?”_

_I looked over, smiling a bit when I saw Fin peeking his head in. He’d wanted to feel like he was helping, so Mom and Dad had given him the job of bringing me my homework, not that I’d been feeling much up to doing it._

_“Hey, little bro,” I smiled at him, wishing I hadn’t laughed when he dropped the notebooks he’d been trying to carry, all of them not much smaller than he was. I tried to sit up, wondering when the meds Mom had given me were finally going to kick in. “Let me get that…”_

_“No!” he shouted at me. “Mommy said she doesn’t want you up!”_

_I rolled my eyes, sitting on the edge of my bed and holding my paws out._

_“Is this enough?”_

_He just kept looking at me, until I got back under the blanket, putting my paws behind my head._

_“Happy now?”_

_He nodded, picked up the stuff and shoved it on the shelf under my nightstand with the rest, that was the highest spot he could reach in my room._

_“I can help you,” he smiled up at me, and it was hard to miss the gaps in his teeth. “Daddy’s teaching me the multi-cation tables!”_

_I laughed._

_“It’s ‘multi-pli-cation’,” I said. “And thanks, Fin, but I think my math’s too much for you.”_

_He scowled at me._

_“Is not!” he argued. “I’m a big kid, too, I can do anything you can!”_

_I chuckled, holding out my paw for a fist-bump._

_“I know you can, Fin,” I said. “But I’m not feeling up to it right now, so how about you help me with it later?”_

_He beamed at me._

_“Okay!”_

_He scampered out, and I rolled over, trying to get back to sleep._

I wish you could stay like that, Fin, _I thought._ But the real world’s going to make sure you don’t…

* * *

_I cried. I raged. I tore apart anything I got my paws on._

_My fault. It was all my fault._

_I should’ve been watching him. I should’ve been paying attention!_

_“Nick!” Dad grabbed my shoulders I hadn’t even realized I was rear to pound something again. “Calm down, and stop blaming yourself. None of it’s going to help bring Finnick back!”_

_I growled, yanking my arm away._

_“What else can I do?” I screamed at him. “_ I’m _the one who was supposed to be watching him!”_

 _“And you did an amazing job,” Dad backed up. It was only half a step, but I knew he was scared of me, he and Mom both were. “It happened too quickly, there was nothing_ any _of us could’ve done!”_

_I knew he was right, but it didn’t help me feel any better. I doubted anything ever would. Finnick, my own baby brother, was dead because I’d done a crappy job of watching him. It didn’t matter that I’d only looked away for a second, not even that, or that the car had come speeding out of nowhere. It was the first time I’d been allowed to watch him by myself, the first time Mom and Dad had trusted me with something that important, and all I’d done was prove everything mammals said about foxes right._

_“I’m untrustworthy,” I muttered, dropping to my knees. “I’m sly, I’m shifty, and I’ll_ never _be anything else. I couldn’t even be trusted with my own_ brother _!”_

_I was crying again, or had I ever stopped since we got the news? Sure, it had only been a weasel-sized car, but it had done enough damage that Finnick had been dead two days later, after they’d already done everything they could’ve to fix him._

_Or, at least, that was what they’d said. He was a fox, too, after all._

_“I can’t stay here,” I looked up at Dad. “Can I stay with Aunt Asha and Grandma for a while?”_

_I knew it was a lot to ask, they lived on the other end of the state, but right now, I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything except getting away. At least then Mom and Dad wouldn’t have to see my face, the face of the fox that had killed their baby._

* * *

_“Come on, foxy, just fight back!” Tony shouted. “You know you want to!”_

_He glared down at me, flashing a smug grin I wanted to rip off his face. But I couldn’t even move. The shocks from my collar had left me wasted, pinned by my own rage. I growled through him, and another jolt lashed through me. I screamed, but he just laughed. I hated it when he laughed._

_“You’re getting what you deserve, fox,” he scowled at me. “You’re getting what you’ve_ always _deserved!”_

_I didn’t say anything to that, and not just because the shocks made it hard to even breathe. I kept quiet because I knew he was right. He’d always been right. Predators had no right trying to live with prey. We were dangerous, untrustworthy, and foxes like me were the worst. I waited for the last shock to stop, whimpering as tears streamed down my face. I didn’t want to cry anymore, but I couldn’t stop myself. I was too weak even for that._

_“Mom and Dad never should’ve adopted you in the first place, asshole,” he growled at me. “None of this would’ve happened if they’d just left you two where you belong!”_

_I froze. I knew he was right. Hell, I’d thought the same thing for a long time, but for some reason, hearing him say it brought out a whole new side of me. An even more enraged and crazy one. I barely realized it when I jumped, part of me trying to fight the red fog that clouded my eyes. I landed on him, biting and scratching, the jolts, even worse than before, throwing me off before I was even close to done._

_I pawed at the collar, my only thought now being to get it off. I wanted it to stop hurting me, but at the same time, I didn’t. I wanted it to keep shocking me until I couldn’t feel it anymore, either because I’d gone numb to it, or because it finally just shut my heart down. I wasn’t sure which one I wanted more._

_“Y-You crazy fox!” Tony yelled. He was on the floor now, that smug grin finally off his damn face. He was bleeding everywhere, from the bites and cuts_ I’d _given to him. As far as I was concerned, he deserved them, every single one. He was the one who always kept egging me on, kept making me want to—_

 _“I wish that weasel would’ve hit_ both _of you…”_

_I froze again, staring down at him._

_And the red came back._

* * *

_“I said let go of me!”_

_The elephant just tightened his trunk, crushing the air out of me. I’d been stuck at Meadowbrook for months, ever since I’d walked in on my mom’s—_

_“Not until you calm down, son,” the head doctor waited in front of me, a needle ready in his hoof. “I don’t want to have to drug you again!”_

_I growled, swiping at him. My claws were clipped, filed down to stumps. To keep me from hurting myself, they said, but I knew the truth. They were scared of me, and keeping my claws dull helped them feel braver. I barked a laugh._

_“You can’t wait to get those damn drugs into me, just admit it!” I kept fighting, the trunk loosening for a second before it tightened again. I was wearing him down, perfect. “I bet you wish those fucking shock collars were still around, too!”_

_“That’s enough!” the moose slammed his foot down. “I know how difficult all of this is for you, son, but it doesn’t excuse you lashing out like this, especially at hospital staff!”_

_He caught himself, forcing himself to calm down. It_ never _worked if they got as worked up as their patients. I scoffed._

_“You need to let us help you,” he went on, his hoof tightening on the needle. Any more, and he’d break the damn thing. “You’ll never get out of here if you keep fighting with us.”_

_I growled again, then spat at his feet._

_“_ That’s _what I think of you and your_ help _,” I snarled. “And you prey are all the same, you just want us preds locked up and gone where we can’t_ get _to you!”_

_I flashed my teeth. Those, at least, were as sharp as they were supposed to be. Guess even prey had to draw the line somewhere._

_“Go on, tell me I’m wrong,” I went on. “Tell me that_ isn’t _what crosses your mind every time you look at me, or_ any _pred. Tell me we’re not just monsters to you!”_

_I stopped cold. It was the first time I’d ever said that out loud, one of my biggest fears. The doctor stared at me, his hoof with the needle hanging at his side, his mouth dropped open. The elephant put me down; I just slumped to my knees, I didn’t want to fight anymore._

_“Please,” I muttered. I looked up at him. “Please tell me we’re not just monsters to you…”_

_I started crying, didn’t try to myself. The last thing I expected was the moose to kneel in front of me, to put a hoof on my shoulder and look at me with actual kindness. The first I’d known in over a year._

_“You’re_ not _just a monster, Nicolas,” he said. “Far from it. We just need you to find another way to channel all the anger you feel.”_

_He pulled away._

_“Being destructive like you are is only going to hurt mammals, including yourself. And I know you don’t want that, you never did. You just don’t know how else to respond when someone else hurts you.”_

_I looked at him, sniffling and wiping my eyes like a baby. He smiled._

_“So, what do you say, Nicolas?” he asked. “You want to try finding another way?”_

_I sniffed again._

_“Stop calling me Nicolas, and you’ve got a deal, Doc.”_

_He laughed. I liked hearing him laugh._


	5. Chapter 5

“For someone who hates hospitals, you sure spend a lot of time in them.”

Paul had been throwing out quips like that since I’d woken up that morning. I rolled my eyes, turning my head to look at him.

“Aren’t you supposed to be all quiet and shy?” I complained. “What happened to that?”

He shrugged.

“Eh, just got tired of it,” he took out his phone. My eyes narrowed as I focused on him, then I smirked.

“It wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact you want to bang Mercy, does it?”

He choked, his phone falling on the bed when he got stuck in a coughing fit. He stared at me.

“W-What the hell are you _talking_ about?”

“Oh, please,” I sat up, leaning back on my paws. “It’s not exactly hard to miss how you look at her, or the smell that comes off you whenever she gets close.”

His mouth dropped open, and it took him a second to snap it shut. His ears went back, red as a cardinal.

“I-Is it really that obvious?”

I chuckled.

“Afraid so, buddy,” I folded my legs, resting my arms on my knees. “It’s not hard to miss how much she wants you, either.”

That made his ears get even darker. My smirk faded.

“But I don’t think she’ll act on it any time soon,” I said. “Not as long as she has Brandon to be afraid of.”

He growled, snatching his phone from where he’d dropped it on my bed.

“It’s been a month since she left, and there hasn’t been any sign of him,” he sighed. “You think he would’ve tried something by now.”

“Maybe,” I thought about it. “He might just be waiting until our guard’s down from this whole missing mammals thing.”

Saying that brought a certain gray bunny to mind, I was surprised I hadn’t thought about her until now.

“How’s Carrots?” I looked at him. “Is she okay?”

He glanced at his phone again.

“Yeah, that’s actually what I’ve been texting about,” he scrolled through something, probably his message history. “Mercy’s been looking after her, but she says it’ll be another hour or two before Judy wakes up.”

I sighed in relief. I hadn’t told her the whole story about that gas, knowing she just would’ve panicked. It was sleeping gas, I’d said that much, but it was also laced with a mild nerve poison, a paralyzer. It’d been the staff’s way of ‘handling’ violent patients. If one of us got loose or too crazy in our cells, they gassed the entire hall to keep anyone else from becoming part of the problem.

“And what about all the savage animals we found?” I turned back to him. “How’re they holding up?”

He shrugged.

“They wouldn’t tell me or Mercy anything,” he said. “You’ll just have to wait until you can talk to Judy.”

“Right…” I sat back, looking out the window. It was sunny, finally, and there was a lot of racket in the street. “What’s going on out there?”

He sent another text.

“Some kind of protest, I think,” he went to the window and looked out. “A lot of mammals are pissed the mayor was basically kidnapping anyone who went savage, even if he was trying to find a cure for it.”

I pushed the blanket off, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Carrots and I heard of his lab coats say it wasn’t happening naturally,” I pushed a paw through my hair. “But what if it is? What if preds are just snapping because of how prey have treated us?”

He shook his head.

“I thought about that, but it makes even less sense that way,” he put his phone away. “I mean, if it was happening naturally, there’d probably be a lot more of us going savage, then there’s the fact only fans of our band are losing it.”

He sat down again.

“Honestly, I’m with Judy,” he leaned forward. “Whoever’s behind this is seriously pissed at you, and this is just their completely insane way of getting back at you.”

“Yeah, but who?” I pressed a paw to my chest. “There’s only one animal I know that could hate me this much, and he disappeared years ago.”

“Doesn’t mean he’s not still around,” he took his phone back out. “He could’ve been laying low all this time, setting this whole thing up and just waiting to light the fuse.”

I didn’t even want to try thinking about it that way. Hell, I was still trying to get my head around the fact this all had to do with _me_ in the first place. But there really wasn’t any other way to spin it, no matter how hard I tried.

“I’m going to hit the caf,” he got up. “I’ll see if they have any blueberries for you.”

I nodded, barely hearing him.

“Yeah…thanks.”

* * *

My head was spinning when he got back, and hearing the protests outside sure wasn’t helping. It sounded like the whole city had snapped when the news had broke, half the stations twisting the facts like they always did to make it sound like preds were the problem. The rest were saying prey were to blame, that this was what they deserved for treating us like shit for so long.

 _At this rate, we probably won’t_ have _a city much longer…_

I looked up when Paul’s phone went off. He pulled it out, smiling.

“Mercy just told me that Judy’s awake, she has been for a while,” he went on. “But she wanted to make sure the doctors were done with her before she let us know.”

He put it down, looking at me.

“I’m guessing you want to see her first?” he smirked at me. “ _Alone_?”

My tail frizzed, and I looked away, folding my ears back.

“N-Not for the reason _you’re_ thinking,” I glared at him. “We still have some stuff to figure out for the case, as you well know.”

He smirk widened, he tossed an apple before biting into it.

“Yeah, sure.”

I groaned.

“I think I liked you better when you _didn’t_ want to bone Mercy,” that shut him up. “And if by some miracle it _does_ happen, get a hotel.”

I left him standing there with his mouth hanging open, throwing up a paw as I walked out.

“See you later!”

Mercy was standing in the hall outside Carrots’ door, probably so I could find it. She was also finally using the phone I’d bought her, instead of just stealing mine. It didn’t do much more than text, but she said it was all she needed.

“Hey, Nick,” she smiled and nodded at the door. “Judy’s been asking for you.”

I rolled my eyes.

“I would’ve been here earlier if _someone_ had told me she was awake an hour ago.”

She shrugged.

“I wanted to make sure you wouldn’t get interrupted, what can I say?”

“Right,” I walked past her, pausing with my paw on the door. “You know, Paul’s sitting by himself in my room, and Carrots and I are going to be busy for a while. Why don’t you go keep him company?”

I winked at her, slipping inside before she could answer. I chuckled, it was way too easy to mess with them. Carrots’ room was just as boring as mine, but it did have one thing worth looking at.

She was standing on her toes by the window, still barely able to look through it. Rabbit and hare girls in general had pretty nice legs, comes with the territory, I guess, but hers were perfect: long, slim and toned. And the way she was standing made her ass look nice and tight. I gave a low whistle.

“And I thought I made hospital gowns look good…”

She froze, her tail and ears standing straight up.

“D-Don’t you have better things to do than stare at young bunnies?” she turned to me, crossing her arms. She was _red._ “Pervert.”

I chuckled.

“Hey, I’m a guy. I see a hot girl, I’m going to stare, I can’t help it.”

She walked toward me, somehow blushing even more.

“Y-You think I’m…hot?”

I shrugged, feeling my own face heat up.

“Kind of hard not to,” I smiled at her. “I mean, yeah, you’re gorgeous, and you don’t turn into a giggling, gasping mess whenever I look at you. It’s…different, I can’t really explain it.”

I didn’t even notice I was moving while my mouth was going, until I was almost on top of her. She looked up at me, her face locked in that blank stare she’d had the second time we’d met. I knelt down, my paw trailing over her cheek; there were three scars under her soft, short fur. Her paw covered mine, the other coming to rest on my arm, already wrapped around her. Her face was so close now…

“J-Judy, I—”

“AAAWWWWWW!!!”

* * *

“C-C-Clawhauser?!”

I don’t know who let go first, but Carrots and I both ended up sprawled on the floor. That fat cheetah from the precinct was standing in the doorway, his paws on his cheeks and squealing high enough to break glass.

“O-M-Goodness,” he stared at me, still wearing that huge smile. “So _this_ is the mammal that’s had our little Judy so hot and bothered lately!”

My brain must’ve short-circuited, had I just heard that right? I turned to Carrots, who looked like she was about to combust.

“H-Have you been talking about me?!”

She shook her head.

“N-No, of course not!” she pressed her paws to her temples. “I-I only told them what they needed for—”

“Oh, she didn’t need to tell us,” Clawhauser held out a paw to each of us. “Anyone with a decent nose has been able to pick up on it!”

She squeaked, flopping her ears over her face and holding them there. Usually, I would’ve had some fun with her, but right now I was about as shell-shocked as she was.

“C-Can we just talk about the case?” her voice was muffled by her paws. “Please?”

He pouted.

“Aw, but I want to know how long you two have been dating, you’re so cute together!”

I glanced at Carrots, still hiding behind her ears.

“We’re not dating, Spots, “ I turned to him, flashing the same smug smile I’ve used a thousand times. “It’s normal for girls to smell like that around me, I’m irresistible!”

If that sounded as flimsy as I thought it did, a five-year-old wouldn’t have bought it. Sure enough, he just lit up even more.

“Then you must find her pretty irresistible, too, Nick,” he said. “Your scent spikes every time you get near her!”

I froze. How the hell could I have missed something like that? How could I have let it get so out of control?

“Uh, I-I’m with Carrots,” I tugged the fur on the back of my neck, then cleared my throat. “Can we just focus on the case, please?”

It felt like hours had passed before he finally let up, that ‘I’m going to explode with excitement’ look dropping right off his face. Well, mostly.

“There were more victims than we originally thought,” he got right into it, which surprised me. “We found the sixteen in the high security hallway, but then a thorough sweep of the building turned up four more, all locked up in different examination rooms.”

“But we only had the fifteen confirmed missing mammal cases,” Carrots cut in. Her ears popped back up when she let them go. “Plus the one we tracked to Meadowbrook in the first place, where’d those other four come from?”

He shrugged.

“There must not have been anyone to report them missing, we haven’t even been able to find out their names yet,” he added. “And that’s not even the weird part.”

“What do you mean?”

He glanced at me, looking even more worried.

“Those other four…they were all foxes.”

* * *

_“They were all foxes: two fennecs, two reds.”_

That had been going through my head on a loop all afternoon. Spots had filled us in on what had happened while Carrots and I were out of it: the victims had been taken to Eastwood General, the city’s best research hospital, and they were working with Lionheart’s team to try and speed up finding an antidote. But they still didn’t have any idea what was causing all this, or even if it _could_ be reversed.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” she buried her face in her pillow. We were still stuck in the hospital, would be until morning at least. I sighed, taking it from her and throwing it at the headboard.

“You’ll suffocate if you keep doing that,” I muttered, not looking at her. I hadn’t been able to keep eye contact with anyone since we’d heard. “And I don’t get how they haven’t found anything yet, either. How many drugs could there really be that cause this?”

She flopped on her side.

“What’s even worse is how quickly they seem to be able to make the stuff, and how many mammals they must have tested it on before getting the effect they wanted,” she gulped. “There’s probably victims out there we’ll never be able to find, and a lot of them might already be dead!”

She was ready to cry, I could hear it. I leaned forward and touched her shoulder, brushing the ear lying against it.

“I’m sure you’ve told me this a hundred times already, but getting worked up isn’t going to solve anything,” I smiled a bit. “And like I said before, let the lab coats take care of all that, we have our own job to do.”

I pulled back.

“And even if we never find those other victims,” I went on. “We’ll still find whoever did this to them. We’ll make sure they don’t hurt anyone else.”

She looked at me, then managed to smile a bit. I smiled back.

“There’s the bunny I love to see,” I held out a paw. “And it’s going to be sunset pretty soon, what do you say we go on the roof and watch it?”

Her ears went a shade darker, she took my paw.

“I-I’d like that.”

“Great,” I suddenly grabbed her wrist, pulling her close and trapping her in a headlock; not enough to hurt her, just so she couldn’t escape. Both of us laughed when I noogied her, and she was still giggling when I let her go, trying to catch her breath. “And that was for cracking up when I almost broke my neck.”

She looked at me, her eyes glowing.

“You’re the one who forgot to put on his seatbelt,” she hopped off the bed, flicking her tail the whole way to the door. “Now, are you going to walk me to the roof, or is my ‘perfect bunny ass’ going to have to escort itself?”

I choked; had she really heard me thinking that? With those ears, I wouldn’t be surprised. She laughed again.

“Relax, Slick, pretty much every guy I know thinks that about me, I’ve heard them all say it at least once.”

I wasn’t sure if that made me feel better or worse, but at least I wasn’t alone. I shoved a paw through my hair, trailing behind her all the way to the roof. It didn’t has as good a view as I thought it would, but we could still see the sun reflecting off a thousand different windows, almost making the city look like it was on fire. She went right to the railing, leaning out and staring at the street six floors below. It was rush hour, sunlight flashing on lines of cars stuck almost at a standstill.

“We don’t views like this in Bunnyburrow,” she pulled back, leaning against my side. “I don’t think we even have trees this tall.”

I put an arm around her. She wasn’t much more than half my size, and I’d only known her for a couple months, but it already felt so natural. Hell, I’d already almost kissed her, would have if Spots hadn’t busted in. I felt her paw slip into mine, looked down to see her smiling at me.

“You’re still taking me to dinner when all this is done, right?”

“Well, sure, I—” I stopped, slapping myself on the forehead. “Tell me I didn’t just walk into that.”

She giggled.

“I’m afraid you did,” she elbowed me. “It’s called a hustle, sweetheart.”

* * *

“Okay, here’s what we have so far,” I paced in front of the bed, moving around always helped me think. Carrots and I had stayed on the roof a while after the sun had gone down, just watching the city and the animals in it, and had come in when it had started cooling off. We’d been holed up in her room ever since. “Someone out there is drugging preds to make them lose it, but we have no idea _how_ they’re doing it. And we know they have a grudge against me, because so far they’ve only targeted fans of _my_ band.”

She nodded.

“And they found four savage foxes locked up at Meadowbrook: two reds like you, and two fennecs like Finnick,” she stopped for a second. “And I know you’ve probably thought about this already, but what if Tony’s the one behind this?”

Just hearing his name used to be enough to bring on a panic attack, but ever since this case had started, I hadn’t felt a thing when he came up.

“You’re right, I have thought about it already,” I climbed on the bed. “But I doubt it. He took off while I was at Meadowbrook, and there hasn’t been any sign of him since.”

I felt her eyes on me as I rubbed my chest again, heard the question shoot through her head.

“I noticed you do that a lot, do you have some kind of heart condition?”

And there it was.

“No,” I grabbed my collar and pulled it down, showing her the scars that stared me in the face every morning: two long, pale lines that cut jagged through my fur. “This happened the last time I saw him, he hit me so hard he managed to crack my ribs, too.”

I swallowed hard, my mouth dry.

“I-It was right after I found our mom…lying in a pool of her own bloody vomit…”

She gasped, her paws flying to her mouth.

“Oh, God…” she blinked, shaking her head. “I-I’m so sorry, Nick, I-I shouldn’t have asked—”

“No, it’s fine,” I wasn’t sure how I was staying so cool about it. “After everything you’ve put up with the last few weeks, Carrots, you have a right to know.”

I dragged in a breath, about to launch into it when she touched my arm.

“You can tell me the whole story later, Slick,” she tried to smile. “Let’s just focus on the case for now. It’ll help save a lot of lives, and hopefully give you some closure.”

Even with her eyes widening, she looked so determined, and it was hard not to smile back.

“All right, Fluff, I’ll tell you everything when this case is over,” I leaned closer to her. “But we’d have to have dinner another night, it’s not exactly light conversation.”

She giggled a bit, but it didn’t last long. Her eyes locked on my hair, and I grabbed her paw when she started reaching for it. Her eyes widened.

“T-That’s why you keep your hair long, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” I brushed it aside, showing her the two scars on my forehead and muzzle. If Tony had gotten any better of a shot, he would’ve ripped my eyes out. “I got them in the same fight, but I still have no idea what he hit me with.”

She stared at me.

“But…why? Why would he do that?” she stumbled for words. “F-From what Paul and Mercy told me, he used to be an okay guy, but that he just…snapped. What on earth could have caused that?”

I shrugged. I knew exactly what had caused it, but I didn’t want to tell her, not yet.

“I’ve been asking myself that for years, Fluff,” I lied instead. I smirked when she yawned, it was just too adorable. “But what do you say we hit pause on this for now? Last I checked, bunnies weren’t nocturnal.”

She yawned again.

“Not even close, and that gas nap was the best sleep I’ve had since I started on this case,” she rubbed her eyes. “I don’t know how I’ve managed to keep going this long.”

I chuckled, grabbing my phone from where I’d left it on her bed, it was going on three in the morning.

“And since I have no idea what I’ll end up walking into, you mind if I skip heading back to my room tonight?”

She blushed, messing with one of her ears.

“I was actually going to ask you to stay, anyway,” she looked at the wall. “I never liked hospitals, and I’d just feel better if I had a friend with me.”

Her ears got darker; she let her head fall to my chest when I climbed up next to her.

“Just sit with me,” she muttered. “At least until I fall asleep, please?”

She looked up at me, doing that thing with her eyes most girls do when they want guys to be completely helpless. I groaned.

“Fine, just put the look away,” I would’ve caved even if she hadn’t used it. “Are you trying to kill me?”

She giggled, curling up around me.

“Maybe just a couple of things,” she yawned again. “Like your stubborn streak.”

I chuckled.

“I’m not the only stubborn one here, Fluff.”

She moaned, waving a paw in my face before letting it drop.

“You’re worse…”

Next thing I knew, she was out. She really had been running on fumes.

 _I’m right here for you, Carrots,_ I hugged her closer. _I promise, I’m not going anywhere._

* * *

We woke up when someone screamed down the hall. Apparently, she’d gone into my room, only to fid Paul and Mercy doing…whatever the hell they’d done all night. I was still curled up around Carrots, who’d decided to use my tail as a blanket. Doc Muskrat barged in, looking like she was about to bite my head off.

“I will _not_ tolerate any disturbances in my hospital, Wilde,” she snapped. “If I hear about any more of your antics, I will personally throw you into oncoming traffic. Is that understood?”

I nodded, barely able to keep a straight face.

“Crystal clear, Doc.”

She glared at me, then stormed out, most likely to give Paul and Mercy their own earful. I started laughing, Carrots groaning and shoving me.

“Why didn’t you _tell_ me Mercy and Paul were in your room?” she asked. “I never would’ve asked you stay here if I’d known that!”

I laughed again, tapping her nose. It was twitching like crazy.

“And that is exactly why I didn’t say anything,” I smirked at her. “You really think I’d miss a chance to see how _cute_ you look when you sleep?”

She growled, her ears getting darker.

“ _Don’t_ call me _cute,_ Wilde,” snapped. I flopped on my side, looking at my claws.

“You didn’t seem to have a problem when Spots called us that yesterday,” I glanced up, my smirk growing when I saw the blank, wide-eyed look on her face. “But you were so out of it, I doubt you even heard him.”

She scoffed.

“You weren’t much better off, Slick.”

I shrugged, pushing myself back up.

“Yeah, but at least I could still function,” I swiped my claws on my sleeve. “You just sat there like your batteries fell out.”

She didn’t have anything to say to that. I turned to the window, but I couldn’t tell if the crowds from yesterday were still out there.

“What do you say we get out of here?” I turned back to her. “That gas doesn’t have any long-term effects, so we’re really just taking up beds now.”

She nodded, taking her phone from under the pillow.

“That sounds good, we should get these videos into evidence, anyway,” she looked up at me. “And would you mind dropping me at my place? I don’t exactly have a change of clothes lying around here.”

“No problem,” I leaned closer, her nose twitching when mine brushed her ear. “As long as you don’t mind me saying how hot you look in your uniform.”

She gasped, her face blazing.

“Nick!”

I laughed, dodging the pillow she chucked at my head.

"Just telling the truth, sweetheart!"

* * *

 Getting out of All Saints this morning had been a nightmare. The press had swarmed us the second we’d stepped outside, shoving past Max and Leo like they hadn’t even been there. I couldn’t blame them for being out of it, though, my whole team had been up about two days straight, split between looking for Brandon and helping us investigate leads.

The questions had been blasted so fast we hadn’t had time to answer any of them, not that we’d tried to. Mercy had been too busy hiding from the cameras, clinging to Paul as he’d pushed his way through. But for every one that had moved, three had come in to take their place.

Most of them had focused on Carrots, asking about the investigation, and what the ZPD planned to do about all the preds that had gone savage. I’d expected her to crack, to just spit something out to make them leave, but she’d kept her cool, saying the same thing whenever she’d been able to get a word in.

_“Mayor Lionheart and Assistant Mayor Bellweather will be holding a press conference in two weeks at Precinct One, I’m afraid we won’t have any answers before then.”_

I wasn’t sure how Lionheart had avoided the slammer, though it probably had something to do with the fact things were chaotic enough without throwing an election into the mix. It had taken the bears snarling at the crowd to finally make them spilt, and it had been hilarious to see them run. I’d told my team to take a couple days and get some sleep when we’d gotten back to my place, and it hadn’t taken any of them long to take it.

Now the rest of us were kicking back in the living room; we’d known finding everyone wouldn’t be the end of it, but now we had no idea where to start when it came to getting the mammals responsible for it.

“A lot of prey listen to you guys, too,” Carrots was laying on the arm of the couch, her ears flopping over the side. “But none of them have been targeted, at least not yet, so maybe whoever’s behind this is prey, too.”

I grunted as I walked past her, pushing her onto the cushion as I tossed a beer to Paul.

“Oof!” she glared up at me, it was pretty hard to take seriously. “Not funny, Nick!”

I chuckled, sitting next to her.

“I thought it was.”

She rolled her eyes, then pushed herself upright. I still couldn’t believe just how fast she moved, it was pretty mesmerizing. I stopped, shaking the thought away.

“But back to the prey thing, that wouldn’t exactly help narrow it down,” I popped the cap on my own beer and took a drag. “If anything, that would just tear the net wide open.”

She cringed, reaching for the bottle she’d swiped from the fridge earlier, my last blueberry soda.

“Yeah, I guess it would,” she messed with the straw she’d stuck in it; seriously, who did that? “But whatever species or class they are, they wouldn’t have been able to pull this off without _some_ kind of network behind them, it’s just too big.”

“So, you’re thinking they were already some kind of criminal?” Mercy was on the floor, curled up against Paul with her head on his shoulder. Even with knowing how long they’d been mooning at each other, it was still kind of weird to see. Carrots nodded.

“Or they’re at least affiliated with the criminal world in some way,” she played with the straw again. “I could probably ask one of our undercover agents if they’ve noticed anything, but some of them are in pretty deep, and at this point there’s no way to know what might actually be useful to the case.”

I was starting to see where this was going, but I wasn’t sure she’d like the idea I was getting. I glanced around, my eyes landing on the mirror across the room. All I got was bright red fox with green eyes staring back at me, looking as lost and confused as I felt.

“Nick?”

I jumped. Damn it, I’d spaced out again.

“Sorry, just tired,” I rubbed my eyes. “Dealing with the press must’ve taken more out of me than I thought.”

“You and me both,” Mercy turned to Carrots. “You seemed to handle it pretty well, though, Judy. You sure you’ve never dealt with that before?”

Carrots shrugged.

“I actually have, a couple of times,” her ears went a shade darker. “The first time was when I graduated from the academy, and everyone wanted to know how it felt to be the first rabbit officer _and_ valedictorian of my class.”

Paul looked at her.

“But, how did you get into the academy in the first place?” he wasn’t the only one who’d been wondering that. “Don’t they have certain height and weight requirements?”

She nodded.

“Yes, but the top brass decided it was time to start recruiting smaller mammals, saying some jobs just can’t be done by a rhino, elephant or wolf. There was actually a ferret in my class, too, but he had to drop out to take care of his family,” she smiled. “He said he’d try again next year, though, or whenever the next chance came up.”

“But if you were top of your class,” Mercy started. “Why didn’t you end up at Precinct One?”

I knew it didn’t work that way, I don’t think I’d ever met a cop who’d been assigned where they had planned to go. She shrugged again.

“I was supposed to, but like I told Nick, I asked to be transferred to my hometown, Bunnyburrow. I wanted to get some field experience before becoming a big city cop.”

Paul nodded.

“Makes sense.”

Mercy perked up, it was the happiest I’d seen her in weeks.

“So, does that mean you’ll be staying here when this case is over?”

Carrots smiled.

“As soon as the paperwork for my transfer goes through, yes.”

Squealing, she jumped up and hugged the bunny, Carrots laughing and coughing before hugging her back.

“Oh, that’s so great!” she put her down. “It’ll be so much fun having another girl in the gang again!”

Carrots looked at her, then me.

“Again?”

“Our other backup vocalist left a few years ago,” she started. “She and Nick were almost—”

I cleared my throat, slashing a paw across my neck. My glare must’ve been pretty cold, because she shut right up.

“She was just too much of a diva,” Paul cut in. He got up, putting an arm around Mercy’s shoulders. “It got to the point where none of us could stand looking at her because of all the shit she’d pulled. She finally got the message one day and split, hasn’t come around since.”

I kept my tail behind me when it frizzed, hoping none of what I was feeling showed up on my face. I’d never told them the full story about that, not even close.

“And thank God for it,” Mercy snatched his beer and gulped down what was left. “I was about ready to kick her tail out myself!”

We laughed, Carrots just looking lost. A minute later, she yawned.

“Well, I’m going to turn in, I still have a lot of sleep to catch up on,” she pushed her half-empty soda toward me. “And thanks for letting me stay here, Nick, even if it was kind of against your will.”

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling, all that old shit draining away when I covered her paw with mine.

“That was true at first,” I admitted, then stroked her thumb. “But now I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

She blushed again, jumped to the floor and took off. Paul turned to me when her door slammed upstairs, he and Mercy wearing some of the biggest-ass grins I’ve ever seen.

“You know her building was all clear last week, right? But you haven’t asked her to leave yet.”

I sat back, taking another drag.

“I know, I still can’t explain it,” I swirled the bottle a bit. “But it just feels so…right, having her around here.”

“It does,” Mercy looked toward the hall, then back to me. “So…are you going to tell her how much she really means to you?”

I hesitated, then shook my head.

“I haven’t been able to think clearly since this whole thing started,” I said. “I want to make sure it’s actually real and not just my clouded head.”

He nodded.

“I can understand that,” he scratched his ear, then glanced at the clock. “Whoa, I should get going, I promised Mom I’d stay with her tonight since my dad’s out of town.”

Mercy huffed.

“I still can’t believe he went on that trip,” she complained. “With everything still going on with Trevor and the city!”

He shrugged.

“He didn’t really have a choice, Mercy, the trip was already put on hold when Trevor went missing. His boss said that, since Trevor’s in an actual hospital now, my dad shouldn’t waste his time just worrying,” he hugged her. “He and Mom haven’t been getting along too well lately, anyway, so he says this trip will give them both space and time to think.”

She didn’t look too convinced, but nodded.

“I hope they’re able to make up, I’ve always hated seeing them fight.”

He nodded.

“You and me both.”

“And me,” I piped up. “I’m still here, you know.”

“Sorry, Nick.” She flashed a smile. “You just kind of fade into the background sometimes.”

I rolled my eyes.

“At least I’m not a walking snowdrift.”

All that got me was a pillow to the head. I laughed, holding up my paws.

“Hey, I’m just telling the truth!”

She groaned, then nailed me with the pillow again.

“Better a snowdrift than a tomato, Slick,” she dropped it in my lap, dragging Paul to the door with her. “And at least I’ve never been mistaken for a traffic cone!”

He stopped, staring back at me. He wasn’t trying too hard not to laugh.

“Wait, traffic cone?”

Mercy chuckled, rubbing her paws together.

“Have I got a story for you, honey…”

* * *

_I growled, throwing my pencil across the room before slamming my head on my desk._

Stupid algebra!

_I just sat like that for a while, my ears flicking back when I heard crying. I sat up, turning my chair around to see Fin in the doorway, wiping his eyes. Mine narrowed._

_“What happened, Fin?”_

_He sniffled, holding the blanket Mom had given him this morning. It was covered in elephants._

_“I…We cel’brated my birthday at preschool today,” he wiped his eyes again. “And some prey kids…tooked the cupcakes and…”_

_He cried harder. I ran over to him, sitting on my knees in front of him._

_“What did the prey kids do?” I asked. He looked up at me._

_“T-They said preds don’t get cupcakes,” he sniffed. “They dumped the tray on my head, right in front of Miss Whinny!”_

_He broke down. I hugged him, trying not to growl. I didn’t have to ask which kids it was, I already knew. And I knew that stupid school wouldn’t do anything about it. They hadn’t for me, either._

_“Everyone got mad at them,” he buried his face in my shirt. “But the other grown-ups still…”_

_“Shh, hey, hey,”I hugged him tighter, then pulled back. “Those animals didn’t know what they were doing, their brains are broken.”_

_He sniffled._

_“B-Broken?”_

_I nodded._

_“Yep, that’s why they’re so mean, they don’t know how to fix ‘em,” I tried to smile. It was the same thing Mom had always told me. “The problem is a lot of them don’t want them fixed, so they spend their whole lives being mean and hurting mammals.”_

_I looked him in the eye, wishing I could do something, anything, to teach them a lesson._

_“All you can do is not let them see they get to you,” I told him. “And help anyone else they’re mean to. Don’t take them head-on, okay? That’s not good for anyone.”_

_He was finally calming down, he wiped his eyes one last time._

_“I_i’ll be helpful,” he said. “I’ll be the most helpful fox ever!”_

_I chuckled._

_“I know you will,” I picked him up. “Now how about we go make some pawpsicles? I saw a whole thing of grape juice in the fridge today, just for us.”_

_He nodded, hugging me._

_“I love you, Nick.”_

_I smiled, hugging him back._

_“Love you too, Fin.”_

* * *

I couldn’t believe it. I’d only been running for twenty minutes, how the hell was I already this tired?

 _You’ve been slacking off for weeks,_ I bent over with my paws on my knees, catching my breath. _You’re letting yourself go, Wilde!_

I looked at the sky, the sun had barely started to rise. I was usually a morning mammal, even weirder for foxes than having zebras for parents. It wasn’t that I hated staying up late, I could go all night without a problem if I wanted to, but there was just something about getting up early that appealed to me. Not that I’d ever tried to figure it out.

I stayed hunched over another minute before straightening, pushing myself harder to make up for lost time. Normally, I’d already be on my way back by now, and I hadn’t even reached the end of the trail yet.

 _I should’ve waited for Carrots to get up,_ I told myself. _Or at least gone with when she’d asked._

She’d asked more than once, but I’d always had some excuse: had to look something over for the case, had to rehearse a bridge, had to finish my damn laundry. I’d spit out whatever had come to mind first, barely able to think whenever I saw her in that sweet little get-up she called running clothes. Made my mouth water just thinking about it.

“Shit!”

Next thing I knew, I was rolling head over tail, ending up sprawled in a ditch.

“Ow,” I picked myself up. “Guess that’s what I get for daydreaming…”

I shook myself off, putting a paw on my forehead; I couldn’t help but laugh.

Everything that had happened the last two weeks, and tripping over myself is what tears it back open. I pulled my old scout neckerchief from my pocket, I didn’t go anywhere without it, and pressed it to the cut. It took forever to walk back, but I wasn’t about to call Carrots after I’d been thinking about her like that, and I didn’t have my phone on me, anyway. When I finally got there, Carrots was already up, sitting on her placemat and typing away at her laptop. I rolled my eyes.

“I’ve got a table in here, you know.”

“I know,” she giggled. “But I like sitting here, it’s so high up!”

She looked at me, the smile dropping off her face.

“What happened to you?”

I shrugged.

“Went for a run and tripped on something, ended up falling in a ditch,” I winced as I peeled off the neckerchief; it’d bled more than I thought. “And I just got the stitches out yesterday!”

“Let me take a look,” she put her laptop down and hopped to the floor. “You really need to be more careful, Slick.”

I scoffed.

“Listen, Fluff, in the last two months, I’ve dealt with savage preds, broke into an old nut house, caught the mayor in a kidnapping scheme and have had every shitty thing in my past come back to bite me in the ass,” I don’t know why I started ranting, but now I couldn’t stop. “And in the middle of all that, I ended up cutting my head open on a table, then again on a run because I can’t stop thinking about a certain dumb bunny, so I think I’ve earned the right to be as _un_ -careful as I want!”

I was panting when I finished. She stared at me, her eyes wide, her face blank. After a few seconds, she blinked, shaking her head.

Uh… _wow_ ,” she threw out a breathless laugh. “I-I sure wasn’t expecting all… _that_.”

I pulled away from her, getting back to my feet.

“Neither was I,” I put the neckerchief back on the cut, I could feel it starting to ooze again. “I-I’m sorry, Carrots, guess I’m even more stressed than I thought.”

“It’s fine, Nick,” she walked over, putting a paw on my arm. “I know how hard of this is on you, and I don’t blame you for losing your cool, anyone would in this situation.”

I sighed.

“That doesn’t really make me feel any better about it, you don’t deserve me lashing out at you like that.”

She tugged on me.

“I said it’s fine, Slick,” she looked at my forehead. “Now come on, I’ll get that cleaned up for you, then we can have some breakfast. Sound good?”

I stared at her tail as I trailed behind her, my ears heating as my mind went all the wrong places.

“Y-Yeah,” I swallowed. “Sounds good, Carrots.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Ugh, would you quit squirming?”

I pulled my face from her paws.

“If you’d quit messing with it, I wouldn’t have to squirm!”

We’d been going back and forth like that for about fifteen minutes. She grabbed my snout and pulled me back down.

“I kind of _have_ to mess with it to clean it up,” she was deadpan. “So sit still for once and let me finish!"

I chuckled, throwing up my paws when she let go.

“Okay, I’ll stop,” I smirked. “Not my fault you’re so easy to mess with!”

She groaned, flicking the cut when she started working on it again.

“Ow!”

She huffed.

“That’s what you get, you dumb fox.”

I chuckled again, holding still like she wanted me to. I’d had my fun, and now I could just enjoy having her close to me. I’d never really noticed her scent before; it was earthy and sweet, with something else that just drew me in and trapped me. I wanted to lean closer, to bury my nose in her fur like she always did with me, but one thought stuck in my head, making me freeze.

 _What if she doesn’t feel the same way?_ What if bunnies were just cuddly and affectionate like that by nature? _What if I just make things weird?_

I hadn’t missed how her scent hitched when she was around me sometimes, but what if that was just her instincts? What if they were just telling her to be careful because there was a pred nearby? I glanced up at her, watching her work. She didn’t seem scared, even when I’d been lashing out or going crazy all she’d gotten was worried or pissed. Was she just really good at hiding it? What if—

“Nick?”

I jumped. She was staring at me, wearing that same concerned look I’d seen a hundred times. I felt my ears heat up, drawing them back so she wouldn’t see how red they were.

“Huh? What?”

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“I said ‘how does that feel?’.”

I reached up, tracing the butterfly bandages she’d used to close it.

“Pretty good job there, Carrots,” I brought my paw down. “Not surprising, though, since you probably have a thousand family members you’ve patched up.”

She stuck her tongue out at me.

“I do not,” she turned away, muttering the rest of it. “It’s only nine hundred…”

I laughed.

“Yeah, because that’s _so_ much better, Fluff.”

“Ugh,” she pulled out a gauze pad, slapped it on and taped it down. “You’re impossible.”

I smirked again.

_You know you love me._

“What was that?”

She looked down at me. I clamped my mouth shut; shit, had I said that out loud?

“Uh…” I glanced around. “N-Nothing, never mind.”

I could tell she wasn’t buying it, but I wasn’t about to tell her what I’d just been thinking. So we just sat there silently, the whole thing just getting more and more awkward.

Until my stomach decided to finally wake up. I curled up a bit, trying to muffle the dying whale that apparently lived in there. She just looked at me, then burst out laughing.

“Well, at least _something’s_ willing to talk,” she said, going stiff when her own gut started up. I didn’t bother holding back, either, cracking up more at the angry look on her face. I knew it wasn’t really that funny to either of us, I think a lot of it was relief at being pulled out of that stare-off.

“Come on, Carrots,” I got up, putting a paw on her shoulder. “What do you say we get some food before we start on the case?”

She nodded, her paw twitching up for a second before she threw it back down. I pretended not to notice what flashed through her eyes.

“That sounds real good, Slick,” she smiled. “And I’ll even cook for you!”

I laughed again.

“Works for me!”

* * *

It took the rest of the morning to figure out we weren’t getting anywhere; all our leads had either already been chased down or dried up. Surprisingly, Carrots threw it in first, slamming her laptop shut and throwing herself back on the couch.

“I can’t believe we _still_ can’t figure this out,” she muttered, her paws over her face. I kept watching the feeds from the few kidnappings that had been caught on camera, hoping to catch some detail on the van we might’ve missed. But it was always solid black, the side windows painted over, the back and windshield tinted so darkly I could barely tell the difference. At least now all the wolf drivers I’d seen made sense, they had some of the best night vision out there. There hadn’t been any plates, tags or anything that might give us a clue to where it had actually come from. I couldn’t even be sure it _was_ the same van showing up at each scene.

“All we know is Lionheart hired them,” I leaned back, rubbing my eyes. She groaned, loudly.

“Yeah, and Fangmeyer and Delgato already took care of all that,” she let her paws drop to her sides. “None of those guards worked for any kind of company, they were all just predators down on their luck and desperate for a payday.”

I barked a dark laugh.

“And boy, did they get one.”

All of them were in the slammer now, and I couldn’t help but think of all the kids going to sleep without their parents, the mates who’d have to spend every night for the next fifteen years sleeping alone. At least Lionheart had agreed to pay all those families compensation.

“Bet if they’d been prey they would’ve got off easier,” I growled softly. She sighed.

“I know,” she dragged herself upright. “It makes me sick that so many predators are still treated so poorly just because of what their teeth and claws look like. It’s disgusting!”

I bit back an annoyed retort. I knew she wasn’t just saying it, she wasn’t like that. I shut down my laptop and set it on the coffee table.

“Well, since it looks like this is all dead for now, how about I take you around the city?” I got up and stretched. “I doubt you’ve seen what this place really has to offer.”

She shook her head.

“I haven’t, but I don’t know if I’m up for it,” she sat up. “I haven’t even been able to get _near_ some areas without getting a bunch of angry looks.”

I smirked.

“That’s because you haven’t been going to any of the _right_ areas, Fluff,” I held out a paw. “Just stick with me, and I’ll show you the Zootopia this place is supposed to be.”

* * *

“Oh, my God, is that Nick Wilde?!”

“What, where?!”

“That’s not him, he doesn’t dress like that!”

“Why is he hanging out with a _bunny_?!”

It was hard to miss Carrots’ face at some of the comments we got, but’d heard them so much I was pretty much deaf to them by now. Well, most of them.

“I don’t think I can listen to him now that I know he’s into _prey_!”

“Would you shut up already? That’s not even him!”

I rolled up the windows and flipped on the AC; we were on the edge of Savanna Central, not far from the tunnel that opened in the Nocturnal District. It was still easy to hear some of the crap, but at least now we could hear ourselves think over it. I stopped at a red light, glancing over to see her hunched in her seat, her ears dropped behind her head.

“What’s eating you?”

She curled up completely, her arms wrapped around her knees.

“I-I didn’t think I’d cause this much trouble for you…”

I hit the gas when the light changed, then pulled into the first parking lot I could find. I put it in park and sat back.

“You really think those comments are trouble, Carrots?” I chuckled. “Half those mammals weren’t even sure it was me!”

She looked up at me.

“You heard that one cheetah,” she argued. “She said she’d stop listening to you just because she saw you with a bunny!”

I scoffed.

“You really think I care about that?” I turned to her. Even though I had my shades on, she still slinked back a bit. I sighed. “Look, for every fake fan who says that, there’s five real ones who don’t give a shit. They care about more than the music, they support what we’re trying to do.”

She perked up a bit, but not much. I took my iPod from my pocket and passed it to her.

“If you just want to sit here for a while, that’s fine, but at least pick something to listen to while we do it,” I smirked again. “I hate sitting around in the quiet.”

She giggled a bit, then flicked through my playlists. After a couple minutes, she stopped, turning to me.

“You like Amelia Weston?”

Amelia had been a country singer, one of many bunnies in the genre, and had basically lived at the top of the charts. I’d almost forgotten she was on there.

“Not so much now,” I admitted, rubbing the back of my head. “But my mom loved her. I put her favorite album on there after…”

I trailed off, not wanting to bring the mood down any more. I scratched my ear.

“You a fan?”

“Of course,” she smiled, a real one this time. “She was my grandmother.”

I gaped at her, pulling my shades down.

“You’re screwing with me.”

She shook her head.

“You probably remember when she retired to spend more time with her grandkids,” she pulled out her phone, swiped through something, then held it out to me. “Recognize the one in her lap?”

Amelia was sitting in a big red chair surrounded by who knows how many bunnies, the girl in her lap the spitting image of the one next to me, just a lot younger. I sat back, chuckling.

“Wow, guess you’re not shitting me,” I glanced at the clock. “But we’re wasting daylight here, and I’ve still got a lot to show you.”

She smiled again.

“All right,” she set the playlist to shuffle and put it on the dash, I’d already connected it to my bluetooth. “Let’s get going, Slick.”

I started the car and pulled out of the spot, my fingers tightening on the wheel when the first song started playing; ‘Starting Again’, my mom’s all-time favorite…

_“Memories like a faded photograph, locking every door so I can’t look back…”_

* * *

“How is it so many mammals don’t recognize you?”

I glanced at Carrots. We’d just gotten back to my place, chilling in the car as we waited for the rain that had come out of nowhere to stop. I smirked, tugging at the collar of my shirt, one of those Pawaiian ones tourists always wear in bad movies.

“Would _you_ believe anyone in this get-up was the leader of a punk band?”

She looked at it, then cringed.

“Point taken there, but I’ve still seen you on magazine covers and in…ads before,” she blushed. “And if I’ve seen them, I know predators have, so how…”

I pulled up my sunglasses and winked at her.

“These aren’t just a fashion statement, Carrots. There aren’t many foxes with green eyes,” I went on. “And most of us have to wear these during the day, anyway, so without my usual threads, most mammals can’t tell it’s me until I take them off.”

She sat back, getting that thoughtful look on her face.

“Huh, so you’re famous, but kind of not at the same time?” she scratched the side of her head. “I mean, the way you explained it, you might as well be two different mammals.”

I shrugged, leaning over to stash my shades in the glovebox.

“Yeah, I guess, but I never really thought about it,” I sat back, putting a paw behind my head. “To be honest, I kind of like it this way. Sure, I still get stalked by the press, but it’s not nearly as bad as it is for some mammals. It’s the same with everyone else in the band, as soon as we’re off the stage, we just blend in.”

I chuckled.

“And it helps that a lot of our fans dye their fur to look like us, we’ve gotten out of quite a few scrapes thanks to mix-ups like that.”

Her eyes narrowed; I threw up my paws.

“Don’t look at me like that, we always made sure no one got hurt, and they always got backstage passes for helping us out. I’m not the selfish egomaniac half the press makes me out to be,” I brought my paws down. “Well, not _as_ bad, anyway.”

She giggled.

“No, you’re not quite an egomaniac, but you’re still full of yourself,” she brushed a paw over her ears. “But at the same time, you’re pretty humble, and you can be really nice and…”

She trailed off again, staring out the windshield. The rain had slowed down, but it looked like it was going to stick around for a while. She swallowed, tucking her paws under her.

“And since Mercy’s staying with Paul at his parents’, I was wondering if, maybe, you and I could do something tonight? You know…together?”

I tried not to look too excited, wishing I’d kept my shades on. At least then I would’ve been able to hide _something_ from her.

“Uh, sounds great,” I rubbed the back of my head. “What did you have in mind?”

She shifted, still sitting on her paws.

“Well, Mercy told me about this movie all of you were in, before the band really got big,” she looked at me. “Paul let me borrow his copy, so I was thinking we could watch that, maybe?”

It took me a second to figure out what she meant. Our first real gig had been doing the soundtrack for a B-list mind-fuck, then when some of the actors had split, we’d ended up taking their places. As far as I knew, Paul was the only one who’d kept the copy we’d all gotten when it was done. I hadn’t even thought about it since the festival it had premiered at.

“Uh, sure, if you think you can handle it,” I was sure she couldn’t, since it’d been enough to give _me_ nightmares for a few weeks. “I haven’t watched it in a while, but I do remember it not being too easy on the stomach.”

She snorted.

“Come on, Slick, it’s B-list, how bad can it possibly be?”

* * *

It was even worse than I’d remembered. Almost every scene had blood splashing or spraying somewhere, and if the lights weren’t off, they were flickering, catching everything in just the right way to make anyone watching it shudder. Carrots had jumped in my lap before the first scene was over, a group of mammals hitting the corn maze at an apple orchard, getting caught in traps the psycho who owned the place had set up in the center. Just far enough away that no one could hear them scream. Trevor and I hadn’t been able to talk for days once we’d finished filming.

She could only watch a few seconds at a time before having to bury her face in my shoulder again, not that I was complaining much about that. But she still wouldn’t let me shut it off, peeking at the screen again just as one of the worst scenes started. Mercy’s character, a girl with asthma named Penny, was strapped down on a busted operating table, gasping and crying as she did everything she could to loosen the straps, unable to look away from the waiting tray of rusted tools. It was also the first time we saw the killer, who’d actually been a cool guy off-set,a hunched alpaca whose hair had been completely burnt off, his skin so scarred up it was amazing he could even move.

 _“I’ve told you time again not to fight me, my dear,”_ his voice was even freakier, like dead leaves getting blown through an old gate. His mouth was always full of slobber, adding a wet hiss that had almost made me shit myself the first time I’d heard it. _“But I’m afraid you’ve gone and broken the rules again, and you_ know _what happens to those who break…my…rules…”_

I shivered again. He just sounded _way_ too damn happy, no matter what happened or what he was saying. Carrots looked away when he grabbed the first tool from the tray, a needle that looked like it was full of tar.

 _“I_ do _understand that you’re scared, but you_ must _know_ I _am the only one who can help you.”_

The shot focused on the needle, the picture going in slo-mo as it got closer to her arm, the pressure from the tourniquet making her veins stand out against her skin. His voice stayed the same, his next words still enough to send ice down my spine.

_“I shall make you see like you never have before, my dear, you and your friends will be better than you could have ever dreamed.”_

The camera panned out, hovering behind him as he leaned over her, that twisted excuse of a smile clear in his voice.

_“I am going to make you all so much closer, you will get to know them in ways you never thought possible.”_

The screen blacked-out, her echoing scream getting deeper, distorting before it finally died down. Carrots shuddered, grabbing my arm when I started to go for the remote.

“D-D-Don’t you even t-think about it,” her face was still buried in my shirt. I rolled my eyes, but sat back, adjusting myself so she curled against my side instead of putting my leg to sleep.

“I don’t know what you think you’re trying to prove here, Fluff,” I looked down at her. “You’ve barely been watching this thing since it started, but you’ve already made it through more than most of the cast did when they watched it.”

She just sat there before groaning, glaring at me as she pushed away.

“I’m not about to give you the satisfaction of being right, _again_ ,” she admitted. “You’d never let me hear the end of it.”

I cocked a brow.

“If this were anything else, you’d be right, especially since I warned you about it in the first place,” I held up a paw when her glare got worse. “But like I said, this thing’s too much for pretty much anyone, so no one would care if you didn’t prove yourself this time.”

I flashed a smile when I realized she didn’t believe me, both of us jumping when the next bolt of lightning hit. It hadn’t even faded when the thunder started, sounding like a skyscraper had just toppled downtown. She curled into an even smaller ball, pressing against me as she shook like a leaf. That was also when the lights decided to crap out, leaving it pitch black until my night vision kicked in, not that it was much help right now. She started whimpering, holding my shirt so tightly I was surprised she didn’t tear it. I didn’t stop myself from hugging her, part of me hoping she was too freaked to noticed how fast my heart was going.

“Shh, it’s okay, Fluff,” I nuzzled the top of her head, like Mom had done to me and Fin when we’d been scared. “I’m not fond of thunder, either, but it’s just noise, it can’t hurt you.”

She didn’t answer, but her shaking seemed to calm down a bit. I glanced at the TV, black like everything else.

“And since it looks like the power’s not coming on any time soon, what do you say we turn in?”

She sniffled, then nodded, her face still buried in my shoulder.

“Y-Yeah, okay,” she opened one eye, looking up at me. “But…Nick?”

“Yeah?”

“C…Could you maybe s-stay with me tonight? A-At least until I fall asleep?”

I felt my ears heat up, I dropped them back, even though I knew it was too dark for her to see.

“Uh, sure, if you want,” I scratched my cheek, waiting for her to get off, but she just closed her eye and snuggled closer to me. I chuckled. “You’re going to make me carry you all the way to your room, aren’t you?”

She moaned softly, nodding.

“Mmm-hmm.”

I shook my head.

“You sneaky little bunny.”

She smiled a bit, her eyes still closed.

“You big…” she yawned. “Gullible fox…”

I chuckled again, shifting my hold on her before I got to my feet.

 _Damn, lot heavier than she looks,_ I grunted a bit, smoothing a paw down her ears. _She’s pretty solid, must be all that cop training._

It was even darker upstairs, since most of the windows were in rooms I kept closed off. Her room was across the hall from Mercy’s, right next to mine. I rolled my eyes.

_She did that on purpose, freaking wolf._

I slipped in, laying her carefully on her bed. She was already asleep, which didn’t surprise me, she was losing more on this case than she let on. The rain started falling harder, and she flinched when the thunder started again, covering her head with her arms. I could only imagine how much louder it was with her hearing.

“It’s okay, Carrots,” I grabbed the blanket she’d likely kicked aside this morning, brushing her cheek after I pulled it over her. My eyes narrowed as I felt those old claw marks again. “Nothing can hurt you, not while I’m around.”

* * *

“Hey, stop right there!”

“I’m not leaving without her!”

“Put the weapon down!”

I didn’t want to know how long that shouting match had been happening before I woke up, Carrots half-way to the door before I’d even moved. I’d passed out on the foot of her bed, curling up to keep as much space between us as possible. It was one thing to let her hug on me while she was trying to comfort herself or bring me down from a panic attack, but it was too much to let her do that while we slept, at least for now.

“Hurry up, Nick,” she threw the door open, barely glancing back at me. “Ugh, I’m not waiting for your lazy tail!”

She ran out at full-tilt, and when my brain finally clicked into place, I bolted after her. Only to skid to a stop when I realized what was going down outside.

Ed and Leo, the newest part of my team, were facing down a gray wolf who looked like he’d just clawed his way from his own grave. Both ears were torn and bleeding, fur thinning and ripped out in chunks, his tattered clothes covered in mud and I didn’t want to know what else. He had a scrawny arm clamped around Mercy’s neck, a gun shoved against the side of her head. And not one of those little tranq ones most mammals with permits carried around. This monster looked brand new, and the crazy look in his bloodshot eyes told all of us he was ready to use it. He stared past everyone else, those insane yellow eyes locking on me. He snarled, half his teeth cracked or broken, if they weren’t missing completely.

“ _You,_ ” he aimed at me, clutching the grip so tightly his arm shook. “You think you can get away with stealing my girl, you fucking piece of shit?!”

Carrots gasped, I put a paw on her shoulder as I walked past.

“It’s okay, Fluff,” I whispered. “I got this.”

I turned to Ed and Leo, both with their own guns trained on him. I patted Ed’s side, the highest I could reach.

“It’s all right, guys,” I couldn’t remember the last time I’d used that tone. I held up a paw. “Stand down.”

I glanced back at them, seeing the gleam in the lion’s eyes and the confusion in the grizzly’s, but they both listened, bringing their guns down and stepping back. I nodded, turning back to the wolves.

“So, you must be the Brandon guy I’ve heard so much about,” I said smoothly. He snarled again when I took a half a step forward.

“Didn’t you hear me, motherfucker?” he turned the gun on me, and it took more than I thought it would to keep my tail from frizzing. That thing looked like it could take half my head off. “I said stay back!”

I stopped, holding up my paws. The one time I didn’t have a piece on me.

“I’m not coming any closer, buddy,” I said calmly. “And none of us want to hurt you, we just want you to let Mercy go.”

He stared at me, then laughed.

“You really think I believe that, you fucking _fox_?” he snapped. “I couldn’t trust you as far as I could throw you!”

Carrots gasped behind me, I threw down an arm to keep her there.

“You’re certainly one to talk about trust, you monster!” she shouted, then tried to push past me. I shoved her back.

“Chill out, rabbit,” I turned just enough for her to catch my glare. “Let me handle this, I know what I’m doing.”

I looked at Ed, the lion drawing further back.

“If she tries anything else, hold her down.”

He gaped at me, then shut his mouth and nodded.

“U-Understood, sir.”

“Good,” I turned back to Brandon, putting my easy smirk back on place. He tightened his grip on Mercy’s neck, his eyes darting all over the place. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed his pupils before, they kept flipping between dilated and slits, no wonder he was acting so stupid.

“I never tried to take Mercy from you,” I told him, then glanced at her. “She’s like a sister to me, always has been. I was just trying to help her out.”

I took another half a step, keeping my paws up and my voice even.

“She just needed some space,” I went on. “Time to figure things out. You can understand that, right?”

The gun wavered, his shaking getting worse. Whatever he was on looked to be wearing off. I inched closer, my throat tightening when Mercy whimpered. I swallowed.

“She never wanted to hurt you, she just wants you to get help. The question is,” I paused, staring right in his eyes. “Are you willing to do that for her?”

The whole time I’d been talking, he’d looked more and more unsure, confused. For a second, it looked like he’d listen, the gun coming down a fraction of an inch. But then it snapped back up, his eyes filled with rage.

“Fuck you, fox,” he growled, then a tight smirk flashed on his face. “Nice try, but all that smooth-talking bullshit won’t work on me, I know what your kind are like.”

He slammed the muzzle back against her head. She cried out, trying even harder to get away from him.

“I’m taking Mercy with me, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it, now or ever,” his eyes narrowed, the gun snapping back toward me. “Say goodnight, fox.”

His finger tightened on the trigger, but I didn’t stay still long enough to see him pull it. I leapt at them, grabbing his wrist and cracking it against my knee. I kicked the gun away when it hit the ground, twisting his arm behind him. He screamed, letting Mercy go to focus on fighting me. I was only half his size, but I was faster, and my head was a hell of a lot clearer. I grabbed his other arm when he tried clawing me, kicking his foot out from under him.

He landed hard on the ground, still struggling against me. He threw his head back, slamming it into my nose. I was stunned long enough for him to throw me off, his eyes even more wild as he jumped to all fours. I froze when he growled, stalking toward me like a mammal possessed. His pupils were slits again, his teeth bared as leapt to rip my throat out.

He faltered in mid-air, yelping when he landed wrong on one of his paws. He dropped to the ground, a dart in his side, his breathing harsh as he whimpered in pain. I let out the breath I hadn’t known I’d been holding as his eyes glazed over, looking to see everyone running toward me, Carrots in the lead with a tranq gun the size of her head. How was she even able to carry that thing?

“Nick!” she threw it down, dropping to her knees next to me. “You’re bleeding!”

I winced when she put a paw to my nose, her fingers coming back red. I pulled the neckerchief from my pocket, holding it in their place.

“I’m all good, Fluff,” I smiled at her. “You really need to quit saving my ass like this, you’re ruining my reputation!”

She rolled her eyes, socking my shoulder before hugging me.

“I’m just glad you’re still around to _have_ a reputation,” she nuzzled my neck. “You really scared me there, Slick!”

“I know,” I hugged her back. “I-I just flashed back to the night Trevor went savage, I-I just froze!”

She pulled away, smiling at me.

“But you did a great job staying in control of the situation,” her smile grew a bit. “And that was an excellent tackle, where’d you learn to maneuver like that?”

I chuckled, hauling her up as I got to my feet.

“I told you, my dad was a PI, he taught me some things.”

She chuckled, then hugged me again.

“And I’m so glad he did.”

“Me, too,” Mercy came up behind her, swiping at her eyes. “T-Thank you, Nick, y-you saved…”

She broke down, knocking me back on my tail when she jumped at me. Carrots laughed, stepping aside to give us some space.

“Oh, Nick,” Mercy sobbed into my shirt. “I’m so sorry, I-I wasn’t…I-I never meant to…I’m so sorry!”

I didn’t say anything, just hugged her back, letting her get it all out. When she finally started to calm down, I pulled away, taking her shoulders.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry about,” I said. “But how the hell did he find you here in the first place?”

She wiped her eyes again, sniffling.

“P-Paul went to run errands with his mom today, s-so I thought I’d come back here. I-I borrowed his car and…” she dragged in a breath. “Brandon must have followed me here, b-but I don’t know…”

I shook my head, turning to Ed and Leo, the two of them looking sheepish.

“How did he get past the cameras?” I demanded. “ _And_ the gate? How did all of you miss him coming?”

Leo glanced around, messing with his phone.

“T-That’s actually what we were about to come up and tell you, sir,” he started. “A-All the cameras, they just went full static this morning, not even sound. A-And maintenance just told me the gate was still wide open, someone must have cut the power to it after Mercy drove in!”

I couldn’t stop the growl from slipping out.

“And you’re telling me some drugged up wolf _still_ managed to make it past two grizzlies, a polar bear and two lions? How the hell does that happen?!”

Leo gulped, Ed putting a paw on his shoulder. I felt bad for snapping at the kid, he’d only been on the job a few days,but he had to know how seriously I took these things. Ed narrowed his eyes at me.

“Max and Jeremy never showed up this morning,” he said, like I should have realized it by now. “They went home after their shift last night and have been off-line ever since. Neither of us have been able to reach them.”

He pulled his phone from his pocket.

“And Rocco had a family emergency, he’s been at the hospital with Zariah all morning,” he flicked through something. “One of her friends apparently gave her some kind of candy, and she just started going crazy after she ate it.”

He stiffened, his face going white as he turned to stare at Brandon. Carrots had cuffed him, Leo and Mercy hovering close by as she talked to someone at the precinct. Ed swallowed.

“Just like this guy…”

* * *

Well, that was the last thing I’d expected to hear. Carrots started digging through Brandon’s pockets, coming up with a little bag of pills.

“Does Rocco know what the candy looked like?” she showed it to Ed. “Was it at all similar to this?”

He knelt down to get a closer look at it, shoving his mane out of his face. He shook his head.

“I don’t think he saw it, he didn’t say anything about it, at least,” he stood, jerking a thumb toward Brandon. “But since Zariah was acting like Mr. Tough Guy over there, I’d be more surprised if they weren’t.”

Carrots suddenly swayed a bit, probably would’ve toppled if Leo hadn’t caught her. What the hell had caused that?

“You okay there, Miss Judy?” he still sounded nervous. She pressed a paw to her head, taking a few deep breaths before straightening.

“Yes, Leo, thank you, and you can drop the ‘Miss”,” she smiled up at him, then turned back to her phone. “It’ll be at least thirty minutes before anyone’s able to get here from the precinct, so it looks like we’ve got some time to figure this out.”

“Or at least try to,” Ed sat on the porch steps. “I’m actually wishing you hadn’t darted that dumbass, Judy, we could’ve gotten the source right from the wolf’s mouth."

She tucked the bag in her pocket and picked up the tranq gun, giving it back to Leo.

“Maybe, but there’s really no way to know. He could’ve bought them,” she went on. “But then he also could have swiped them, or even just found the bag lying on the ground somewhere.”

She shook her head.

“It looks like we won’t know anything else until the labs are able to test them.”

She walked over to me and Mercy, Leo sticking by Brandon, though from how the wolf was snoring, I doubted he’d be waking up any time soon.

“What about you, Mercy?” she pulled the bag out. “Have you seen pills like these before?”

Mercy barely glanced at them before shaking her head.

“I’m not into the whole drug scene,” she said. “I probably couldn’t tell a blunt from a cigarette. But they are a nice color, I think I’d remember seeing something like that before.”

Carrots tossed the bag to me.

“What do you think, Nick?”

I shifted it in my palm; something bit at me when I looked at them, but it wasn’t exactly recognition.

“No,” I tossed them back to her. “I did mess around with drugs a few years ago, but I’ve never seen these before.”

I pulled the cloth from my nose, sighing when I saw the bleeding had stopped. I stood up and brushed myself off.

“But I can tell you this wasn’t just a coincidence,” I went over to grab the gun I’d made Brandon drop. It was as long as my forearm and lighter than I’d thought it would be, the serial number filed cleanly off. I looked closer at it, and couldn’t stop myself from laughing. “Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me…”

Everyone stared at me like I’d just lost my mind; Carrots facepalmed.

“You were about to tell us your _genius_ little theory about all this, Slick,” she dragged her paw down her face. “And I fail to see what’s so funny about it, he could’ve killed you!”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” I chuckled again, hefting the gun and aiming at a tree. I tried pulling the trigger, smirking when it didn’t move. “Dumbass didn’t turn the safety off, and I doubt it’s actually loaded, anyway.”

I ejected the mag, Carrots facepalming again when I showed her it was empty.

“Oh, sweet cheese and crackers!”

* * *

“So, at least we finally have an idea of _how_ preds are going savage,” I laid back on the couch. Carrots’ fellow cops had come and gone, taking Brandon’s still-snoring ass with them, after we’d spilled about the pills he’d had. She’d left with them, since unlike us, she still had a job to do. “Now we just have to find out how they’re making this stuff, and where.”

“A ‘who’ would be nice, too,” Mercy said, wrapped around Paul again. The glare on his face was not something I was used to seeing. “We can’t exactly solve this if we don’t have anyone to look for.”

He growled, pulling her closer to him.

“I say we just beat it out of that piece of shit wolf next time we see him.”

I sighed, pushing myself upright.

“As much as I’d love to do that, buddy, I have a feeling it wouldn’t get us anywhere,” I gingerly pressed a paw to my nose, then winced. “And as much of a scumbag as he is, I dont think he has the brainpower to be part of something this big, I’m surprised he’s smart enough just to buy drugs.”

He looked at her.

“ _Why_ exactly did you get with him again?”

She shook her head.

“I have no freaking idea.”

I rolled my eyes as they went off into la-la land, heading to my room before it got any worse. It was hard to believe those two had never hooked up before; I shook my head to get the forming image out of my mind.

_Okay, that’s enough of that!_

I flopped on my bed, taking out my phone and flicking through my pictures, I’d been transferring some of them since my first cell. I froze at one, not bothering to blink back the tears that came up. Our last family trip before everything had started going to shit. I didn’t remember the name of the theme park we’d gone to, something about berries, I think, but it’d been one of few places where species or class hadn’t mattered. Even if you were a pair of foxes with zebras for parents.

Fin had been standing on Mom’s shoulder, me sitting on Dad’s, both of us with a fist in the air and a big, laughing smile. Tony had been too big for either of them to pick up by then, so he’d stood between them. They’d both had an arm around him, his smile the only one that looked forced. I shuddered, even now I could feel how cold his eyes had been afterward, but it had taken a few more years to learn just how much he really hated me. I sniffed, flipping past it.

The next picture I stopped on was a lot more recent, back when we’d first started the band. Trevor and I had been twenty, Mercy nineteen, Paul seventeen. I traced a claw over the other two mammals, my throat tightening as I focused on one of them. Everything boiled up again: the love, the happiness, the fury and betrayal that had ended it. I swiped at my eyes with my sleeve, putting my phone to sleep and tossing it aside. Now was not the time to be thinking about any of that, no matter how much it hurt to keep it buried. The last thing any of us needed right now was _that_ whole can of worms blowing up in our faces. It had waited this long, it could wait until the case was over, when I was finally able to think clearly again.

I just hoped I’d be able told out until then.

* * *

_“Hey, Mom?”_

_“Hmm?” she looked at me. Shed just put Fin down for his nap, and now I was helping her make dinner. Dad was out of town again, and Tony was camping with his troop._

_“Why’d you adopt me and Fin?”_

_She hummed again, cutting up the potato I’d peeled and dropping the pieces in a big pot on the stove._

_“Your father and I always wanted children,” she said. “But it turned out to not be easy for us, it happens that way sometimes. Your brother was a miracle, and after he was born, we decided we’d do whatever we could to help children who’ve lost their parents.”_

_“Like me?” I didn’t know a lot about my other mom and dad, just that a lot of stuff had happened that made it impossible for them to keep me. She nodded, putting a hoof on my cheek._

_“You were the first kit we saw in your orphanage, Nicky, and from that moment, we knew you were going to be our son,” she smiled, then nuzzled my head. I groaned, running my paws over my fur._

_“Mom!”_

_She chuckled, then went back to the pot. I picked up a carrot and started peeling it, watching the pieces fall on my little cutting board._

_“What about Fin?”_

_She stopped smiling, staying quiet for a long time._

_“It was a little more complicated with Finnick, I’m afraid,” she swallowed, and I started wishing I hadn’t asked in the first place. I didn’t like seeing her sad. “He was left at the school where I work, with a note that said his mother wanted me to look after him.”_

_The peeler slipped from my paw. I stared up at her._

_“His mom just…left him there?”_

_She nodded._

_“Not every mother is ready when she has her first baby,” she explained. “Sometimes she’s too young, or something terrible happened, and she needs someone else to take care of her baby.”_

_She sighed, then shook her head._

_“Sometimes it’s just for a while, and sometimes it’s forever. In the end, it’s up to her to decide what’s best, and unfortunately, sometimes that can mean giving them up,” she turned to me, putting her hooves on my shoulders. “But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t love them, I want you to understand that, Nicolas.”_

_I gasped, she and Dad almost never used my whole name. She looked at me, her smile gone again._

_“Do you understand?”_

_I looked back at her, then nodded._

_“Yeah, I understand,” I reached up and hugged her. “Thanks for picking us, Mom.”_

* * *

We didn’t see Carrots much until the press conference. Bogo had had her and about half the force looking into all the known drug dens in the city, trying to find anything about those pills. Paul and I had gotten the same idea, except we’d gone where the cops would’ve never thought to look. Eventually, we’d found out the street name for them: Baby Blues.

And that was about it. A lot of mammals had recognized them, but not even the ones who sold them knew where they actually came from. The last one had even claimed the bags had just shown up outside his place, with some kind of note saying they’d be the next big thing. Of course, he hadn’t had it on him, but I’d managed to convince him to get it for us. It’d been typed, of course, printed on paper that could’ve been picked up anywhere, so basically a dead end. There hadn’t been any hits on Mercy’s end, either. She’d been watching Furbook, seeing if that code showed up when someone said they liked our band. The closest she’d gotten was an old Navy vet using the NATO code Fin and I had based it on.

And now we were sitting in the lobby of Precinct One, barely listening to the case recap Buffalo Butt was giving the press, filling them in on the state of the mammals Carrots and I had found. Most of the reporters were prey, the few pred ones hanging out at the back. They’d swarmed us when we’d first come in, asking if Trevor was the only reason we’d decided to help with the investigation, or if the rumors of me being the perp’s main target were true. They’d gone back to the crowd when the Chief had walked on the makeshift stage, even if they weren’t doing much of the talking now.

“Oh, I am so nervous…”

Carrots got up and bounced on her feet, pacing around as she waited for him to call her up. According to her, the lab coats had run every test they could think of on those pills, and all they’d been able to prove was that they were the reason all these mammals were losing it, nothing about how it happened. It wasn’t like any drug they’d seen before. And that weird feeling I’d had the last few weeks was still biting at me, like I was supposed to know more about what was going on, but just couldn’t figure out why.

I grabbed her arm when she walked past me again, flashing a smile.

“Calm down, Fluff. You’ve seen our interviews, just do what we do.”

She looked at me.

“You mean that answering a question with a question thing? Are you sure?”

I nodded.

“Trust me, it works.”

She still looked unsure, glancing past me. Paul shrugged.

“It puts you more in control of the situation, so it should help you keep your cool.”

She sighed, turning back to me.

“It would help if you guys were up there with me, and you should be,” she added. “We did this together.”

“Oh no,” Mercy laughed. “This is _your_ moment, Judy. Go show them how kickass the ZPD’s first bunny is.”

Carrots swallowed, crossing her fingers before heading to the stage. Bogo talked another minute, nodding at her as he moved away from the podium. The questions were flying before she’d even reached the microphones.

“Officer Hopps! Officer Hopps!” an alpaca shoved a recorder in her face. “What can you tell us about the animals going savage?”

She floundered a second, glancing at us before taking a breath to steady herself.

“A-Are the savage victims all different species?” she turned back to the crowd. “Y-Yes, yes they are.”

A brown hare waved her pen around.

“Is it true that no prey mammals have gone savage?”

Carrots nodded.

“As of right now, that is accurate, yes.”

“Why?” a bat flew in front of her. “Why is this happening?”

She wrung her paws for a second, then cleared her throat.

“We still don’t know exactly why this is happening, or why it’s only been predators so far,” she ran a paw over her head. “But I can assure you, we here at the ZPD will not stop until we have found a cure for those inflicted and the mammals responsible for this are in custody.”

She looked back at us, flashing a big smile.

“Of course, I never would have gotten this far without Nick, Paul and Mercy,” she held out a paw to us. “Their assistance has been invaluable, and I am proud to call them all my friends.”

I had to stop my tail from wagging; play it cool, Wilde, play it cool. I glanced outside, my fur standing on end when I saw something gleam on a rooftop across the street. I turned back to the room, but Paul beat me to it.

“Everybody get down!”

Everything went in slow motion after that. I heard glass shatter, Carrots’ gasp as she stepped back, her foot slipping off the podium stand, her head cracking against the stage when she fell. I took off, dropping to my knees next to her, having to tell myself over and over not to move her.

“Judy…”

I checked her for injuries, heaving a sigh when I didn’t find anything. Bogo started shouting orders, two officers herding the reporters to one side of the stage as another team ran past the other.

“N-Nick…”

My attention snapped back to Judy. She grabbed my shirt, her whole body shaking as she dragged herself closer to me, burying her face in my chest. I hugged her, looking up when the Chief came over to us, his scowl more worried than usual.

“She’s fine, sir,” I kept her as still as I could. “She’s just dazed.”

He nodded, relief flashing through his eyes before he turned back to his team, shouting to find whoever had fired the shot. I scanned the wall behind the stage, my gut dropping through the floor when I saw the hole in one of the ZPD banners. If it had been any closer, it would have ripped right through her head.

Just the thought of that made me shudder. I held her closer, not caring who saw as I buried my nose in her neck. I dragged in her scent, willing my heart to slow down before it jumped out of my chest. She was still alive, and I was going to do whatever the hell I had to to keep it that way.


	7. Chapter 7

Judy clung to me the whole time she was being looked at; she had a nasty bump on the head from her fall, but that was about it, thank God.

“Um, did you forget the fact you were just shot at?!” I demanded, barely able to keep from shouting it. She rolled her eyes and pushed away from me.

“Of course not,” she stood up and straightened herself out. “But it’s not a big deal; they missed, didn’t they?”

“Not a big—!” I jumped up, my mouth hanging open. What the hell was going on with her? “Judy, you almost died!”

“ _Almost_ being the key word here, Slick,” she turned to me. “And that can only mean we’re on the right track. We’re close to the bottom of this, and whoever’s charge doesn’t want us getting there.”

She hopped off the stage and went to talk to another cop, but I didn’t look long enough to see which one. My tail dragged behind me as I went back to Paul and Mercy, who just sat there looking stunned. He stared after her, opening his mouth a few times before finally getting something out.

“She really doesn’t care, does she?”

I shook my head.

“I don’t think that’s it, not completely,” I shoved my paws in my pockets, better than messing with them like a scared old lady. “She’s seen all our interviews, read everything put in print about us. I know what she’s trying to do.”

Mercy looked at me.

“And that would be—?”

I shrugged, turning to watch Carrots. She stood tall, her ears and tail perked, and as much as she was trying to hide it, I could still see her shaking. I sighed.

“She’s doing what I’ve always said,” I turned back to them. “She’s not letting anyone see that it got to her.”

He barked a shocked laugh.

“Almost getting sniped is a lot worse than just dealing with some jerk on the street,” he started. “I think she’s allowed to have more of a reaction than that.”

I scoffed, jerking my head toward her.

“Try telling her that.”

“Wilde!”

I jumped when Bogo stormed over to me, looking like I’d just personally insulted him. He nodded stiffly toward the stairs.

“Come with me.”

I glanced at Mercy and Paul, they just shrugged before waving me on. I didn’t bother looking for Carrots before following the Chief, I wasn’t sure how I’d react if she tried brushing it off again. He led me to his office and shut the door behind him, pointing to the chair in front of his desk as he went to sit in the one behind it.

“Have a seat.”

I felt his stare on me as I climbed up, my eyes staying anywhere else. I scratched the back of my head, trying to keep my tail from twitching.

“Uh, sir,” I cleared my throat when my voice cracked. “You know I’m not an officer, right?”

“I’m aware,” his voice was flat as always. His eyes narrowed. “But I’m also aware of what you can do, Wilde.”

Okay, if I wasn’t lost before, I was now.

“Sir?”

He sighed.

“After what just happened, I should be taking Hopps off this case,” he started. “But I already know nothing short of arresting her would keep her from investigating on her own, so instead, I’ve decided to keep her on. Under one condition.”

My ears dropped, I did not like where this was going.

“And what would that be?”

“If you stay with her at all times. I’ve read your file,” he went on. “And while you may have gotten your skills through…unconventional means, I don’t doubt you’ll be able to defend her when she gets in over her head.”

I stared at him, shaking my head to shut my thoughts up. I already knew she wouldn’t stop until she solved this, whether the rest of us were with her or not.

“I’ve already got a whole team for that sort of thing,” I told him. “And there’s any number of cops you could pick for this, so why ask me?”

He put his hooves on the desk and leaned over it; I tried not to make it obvious when I shrank back.

“Because you’re the only one she’d never try to sneak away from. She trusts you, Wilde,” he sat back, and I could’ve sworn he smirked. “Even if I don’t fully understand why.”

I laughed nervously. I knew exactly what he was talking about, and I wasn’t about to let her get wind of it. I cleared my throat again.

“If that’s what you want me to do, Chief, then I’ll do it,” I ran a paw through my hair, then grabbed the fur at the back of my neck. It wasn’t the first time I’d thought about doing this, but it was the first time I’d been able to do something about it. “And since I’m here, sir, there is something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about…”

* * *

“As if all this wasn’t complicated enough…” Paul threw his head back against the seat. We’d gotten stuck at what had to be the longest red light in history. “Now we’ve got _two_ ways they’re making preds lose it.”

I shook my head, leaning forward. They’d found an air pellet gun in the lab at Meadowbrook, with traces of whatever they’d found in the savage mammals’ bloodstreams. One of the earlier victims had had it in their mouth when they’d been caught, and had been the initial tip-off that all this wasn’t happening naturally.

“It’s been two ways from the start,” I said. “We just didn’t realize it until now.”

“But why do it like that?” Mercy asked. “Why dart some of the victims, but then drug others?”

I sat back, crossing my arms.

“Whoever’s in charge is an opportunist,” it hadn’t taken long to puzzle that out. “They knew the same method wouldn’t always work, so they came up with another way to get the job done. It sounds like they switch the two out depending on the situation.”

I glanced at Carrots. She’d been curled up, hugging herself and staring out the window since we’d gotten in the car. I hadn’t told any of them about Buffalo Butt’s order, or what we’d talked about after, it just wasn’t the time. I leaned over and took her shoulder.

“We’re still here if you need to talk, Fluff,” I flashed a smile, but she never moved. I pulled away, took out my phone and fired off some texts. “We should stop at Whitewood Memorial, I have to make sure Zariah’s okay.”

“Right,” he hit the gas when the light finally changed, turning off at the next exit. He glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “You thinking she or her friend were targeted?”

I shook my head. Zariah had just started third grade, way below the age range our perp usually hit.

“It was probably just a fluke,” I said. “But hopefully someone will be able to tell us where her friend got those pills.”

Visiting hours were over by the time we got there, and with Carrots still catatonic, we were stuck waiting in the lobby for Rocco and the rest of his family. I could feel the glares following my every move, hear all the high and mighty whispers from pred and prey alike. But none of that mattered right now, all I cared about was being there for mammals who were important to me.

“Unckie Nick!”

I was bowled over by a sandy blur; Zariah’s sister, Yumiko.

“H-Hey there, kiddo,” I grunted, trying to get the breath she’d knocked out of me. She’d just turned four, already less than an inch shorter than me. She curled into my chest before getting up, her favorite pink jumper wrinkled like she’d slept in it.

“Unckie Nick, t-they won’t let me see Zury!”

I picked myself off the floor. That didn’t surprise me.

“I know,” I put my paws on her shoulders. Hard to believe I’d been able to hold her just a couple years ago. “It’s not really fair, is it? But you know they have a reason for it.”

She shook her head.

“T-They’re just big meanies,” she growled. “I want see my sister!”

“And you will,” I took her face in my paws, hating the tears in her big brown eyes. I tried to smile. “It’ll just take some time, okay, sweetheart?”

She sniffled, staring at me before nodding. I smiled again.

“That’s my girl,” I smoothed the fur on her cheeks, it was damp and matted. “Now, no more tears, okay? I need you to be brave for your sister, can you do that for me?”

She rubbed her nose, then nodded again.

“Awesome. Now, what’s this?” I reached behind her ear, letting the sucker I’d tucked in my sleeve slip into my palm. It was one of my favorite tricks to do for kids. “Now, how on earth did _that_ get back there?”

She swiped at her eyes, giggling as she took it from me. I kissed her forehead, silently hoping Astelle wouldn’t go off on me for ‘encouraging her little girl to get cavities’. She was crazy about a lot, but that was the worst. I looked up when a shadow fell over us, seeing Rocco’s thousand-yard stare on full display. His eyes were red, his mane all over the place.

“I can’t believe this,” his mouth barely moved, but the words echoed in my head. “M-My baby girl…”

Guilt clawed at me, but I didn’t say anything. I mean, what the hell _could_ I say?

“How come Mommy get to stay with her?” Yumiko glared at him. “How come you and her could see Zury?”

Hearing her snapped him out of it, at least partially. He knelt down, his eyes watering again.

“Y-You’re just too young, honey,” he tried to explain. “And neither of us want you to see her like that.”

He pulled her to him, glancing at me over her head. There was none of the rage I’d expected, just sadness and exhaustion. I stepped back to give them some space, turning to see Carrots was still out of it, Mercy sitting next to Paul with her face buried in his shoulder. None of them would even look at me now, and I couldn’t blame them.

“Nick.”

I turned back. Rocco still looked like he was about to fall apart, but I could see that fire in him again, the determination that made him a great guard and an even better friend. I swallowed, hoping my voice wouldn’t crack.

“Yeah?”

He had to take a minute, then shoved out a sigh.

“I’ll answer any questions you guys have,” he said quietly. “I’ll do whatever it takes to help Zariah, and all the others.”

I walked over, putting a paw on his shoulder.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, pal,” I glanced at Yumiko, already asleep. “But let’s do it at my place, I still have a spare room I can set you two up in.”

He nodded, cradling her as he got back to his feet.

“Thank you.”

I tried to smile, it didn’t last.

“Any time.”

_After all, it’s the least I can do…_

* * *

It took a couple hours, and a few shots, before Rocco was ready to talk. Mercy was putting Yumiko to bed upstairs, Paul and I sitting across from him in the den, just waiting for him to start. He gulped, rolling the empty glass between his paws, staring at it like it was the only thing keeping him grounded, and it probably was.

“I-It was a few nights ago,” he started. “I was helping Zariah with her homework when she started acting like…almost like she was sick…

Paul leaned forward a bit, and I tried not to smirk at the pen and notepad he was holding. He’d always been crazy about note-taking.

“Sick how?”

Rocco sat there for a while, his eyes darting to the bear-sized tequila bottle I’d left on the table. He’d never been one to drink, but there were times a mammal just needed it, like when having to explain that he’d seen his own cub go savage. He poured another shot and threw it back.

“S-She said her stomach was hurting, then her head, then everything,” he put the glass down and pushed it away. “T-The next thing I knew, she was on the floor, growling and screaming, and she…”

He trailed off again, dropping his face in his paws. It tore me up to see him like this, to have to force him to relive it, but we needed all the info on this drug we could get.

“Ed told us you said something about her getting some candy from one of her friends,” I spoke as gently as I could. “Can you give us anything else on that?”

His breath hitched, and he shoved his paws through his mane.

“I-It was actually Yumiko who found them, just before Zariah went…went savage,” he gulped again. “Astelle had caught her going through her sister’s school bag, she couldn’t believe it when Yumiko pulled them out. She said Zury had gotten them from her friend, Alexis, and that she was mad her sister wouldn’t share, so she was going to take some.”

He stopped there, but it didn’t take much guesswork to figure out what happened next. I could hear Astelle scolding her, saying she couldn’t just take things when someone told her no, the lecture getting cut short when they heard Zariah screaming downstairs. It had already been three days since then, that they’d been terrified and worried, and there still wasn’t any sign the drug was leaving her system. Or any of the other victims’, for that matter.

“Did you see the candy?” Paul asked. “Do you remember what they looked like?”

Rocco rubbed his forehead, his claws digging in.

“T-They were blue,” he said. “Light blue, like a cub’s blanket when he’s born, and they were…they were…”

He groaned, pressing his claws in so hard I thought he’d make himself bleed.

“Don’t push yourself too hard,” I said. “Just tell us what you can.”

He nodded, shoving out a breath and forcing his paw down.

“They were a weird shape, a paw print, or something like that,” he looked at us, his fist tightening on his jeans. “Alexis and her parents met us at the hospital that night, and I asked where she’d gotten them. She wouldn’t tell me until everyone else had gone to try and eat.

“She said she’d found them in her step-brother’s room, that he must have hidden them because he didn’t want his friends knowing he liked Princess Tarts,” he managed to chuckle a bit. “She said she tried one, but spit it out because it didn’t taste right. She was going to ask Zariah about them, since she’s the candy expert.”

He chuckled again, and it was hard to miss the tear that slipped down his cheek. He swiped at it with the back of his paw, just like both the girls did.

“But then Astelle came to pick her up, and Zariah shoved the bag in her pocket and ran off, since her mom hates waiting,” he barely smiled. Astelle’s impatience was one of the only things they argued about. He took a breath and sighed again, slumping forward. “I’m sure you can figure the rest out.”

I could, and I didn’t like where it was going. Not only was someone darting preds with this drug to make them lose it, but they or someone else were turning it into pills that looked way too much like a popular candy. It opened up a whole new side of the case, one nobody had thought to look for yet. I glanced at Paul, the pen slipping from his paw and rolling to the floor. I shook my head, pushing myself to my feet.

“I’ll be back, I have to tell Bogo about this,” I walked out before either of them could say anything, heading straight for my room. I grabbed my laptop and fired it up, taking the Chief’s card from my pocket, he’d given it to me after our little talk this morning. I kept the email as short as I could without leaving anything out, then sent off, Carrots’ scent hitting me just as I finished. When had she gotten in?

“N-Nick?” she peeked in, her ears flat against her back. “C-Can I talk to you?”

“Sure,” I put my laptop away and sat on my bed. “Come on in.”

She slipped inside and shut the door behind her, resting her forehead against it before turning back to me, wearing the same blank expression she had all day.

“I know what you’re trying to do, Judy,” I said as she walked toward me. “And I can tell you it’s a really bad idea.”

She climbed up next to me and smoothed out her nightshirt; it was white and covered in carrots, big surprise.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she wouldn’t look at me. I rolled my eyes.

“Come on, Carrots, don’t bullshit me,” I took her chin and made her face me. “I don’t think I have to remind you that you were shot at this morning, or that you’ve pretty much been a zombie since then.”

Her eyes narrowed, and she batted my paw away. She started to climb down, squeaking when I lashed out and grabbed her wrist. I yanked her into my lap, wrapping my arms around her when she tried to escape. She glared at me, pushing at my chest.

“Let go, Nick, _now._ ”

“Not until you talk to me,” I stared back at her. “I saw you shaking after it happened, I’m not about to let you keep it in and hurt yourself!”

She growled, hitting my shoulder.

“I’m not going to hurt myself,” she argued. “Let me go!”

She kept hitting me, until I’d grabbed both her paws in one of mine. Everything about her was so much smaller, but she’d proven time again she didn’t fit the ‘fragile belle’ stereotype usually thrown at bunnies. I squeezed her paws, letting everything that had bubbled in my gut today show on my face. She calmed down when I looked at her again, her eyes widening.

“Nick, you…”

“Of course,” I held her paws to my chest, smiling when she pressed them closer. “I’ve been worried about you all day, Judy, all of us have.”

She blinked, her eyes starting to water as she stared at our paws.

“I-I’m sorry, Nick,” she whispered tearfully. “I-I don’t know what I was thinking, I-I just wanted to…”

“Hey,” I let her paws go, cupping her cheek. “You don’t have to apologize, Carrots, just, please, talk to me.”

She sniffled, then nodded, laying her head on my shoulder.

“Bunnies have to work twice as hard just to be taken seriously,” she said quietly. “Every day, I have to prove I’m more than just some ‘cute ball of fluff’, that I can do this job just as well as other mammals, if not better.”

She curled up, one of her paws sliding under my arm to grab my shirt. I traced the scars on her cheek, remembering the other question that had been burning a hole through my head.

“You got these from a fox, didn’t you?”

She gasped, then pushed away from me, her paws flying to her face.

“Y-You weren’t supposed to see those,” she stammered. “H-How did you—?”

I held up my paw, letting my claws out. I kept them short, but sharp.

“I know what scars from these look like,” I told her, then brought my arm down. “I actually spotted them a while ago, why didn’t you ever tell me?”

She got that look, the one that said she was trying to think up a lie.

“I…I just didn’t want you to…that’s to say I…”

“Carrots,” I took her paws again. “I know we haven’t known each other long, but you know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

She hesitated, then nodded.

“I-I keep trying to tell myself that, but I’ve just gotten so used to keeping everything to myself,” she curled back up against my chest, her ears flopping over my shoulder. “Ever since I was a kid, I was the odd bunny out, and there was one mammal determined to never let me forget it.”

She swallowed, taking a small breath.

“His name was Gideon Grey, one of the only foxes in Bunnyburrow. I got these scars defending my friends from him,” she traced a paw over them. “We got in a fight and he knocked me down, so I kicked him in the face, hard enough to make his nose bleed.”

She shivered.

“But it just made him angrier, so while I was still on the ground, he scratched me, but it was the last time he messed with me or my friends.”

She looked up at me, waiting for an answer, but I didn’t really know what to say.

“Uh, your childhood bully was a fox,” I finally managed. “But so’s the leader of your favorite band, I’m afraid I’m a little lost here, Fluff.”

She giggled, pushing herself back up.

“The fact you’re both foxes is pretty much the only thing you have in common,” she blushed. “Gideon was never as nice as you are, and he never would’ve protected me, or any prey, like you do. You were even worried when I slipped like an idiot on that podium.”

She laughed again, trailing off when I touched her cheek.

“Of course I was worried, Fluff,” I said quietly. “I was terrified.”

She gasped, her eyes widening.

“W-What?”

I gulped, knowing she could feel my heart pound. I took her paw again.

“I was terrified, Judy,” I repeated, louder this time. “Because I almost lost you…”

Her fingers tightened on my shirt as I leaned in, my lips barely brushing hers when the door opened, Yumiko sniffling as she came in.

“U-Unckie Nick?” she rubbed her eyes, her tail tucked close to her. One sniff told me exactly what had happened. “I-I had a accident…”

* * *

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re great with kids?”

Carrots fell over on her side. After we’d gotten Yumiko taken care of, we’d gone back to my room, neither of us bringing up what had happened. It just didn’t feel like the time. I fell back next to her, staring at the ceiling.

“I’ve been hearing that since I _was_ a kid, Carrots,” I smiled, but it didn’t last long. “Up until high school, all I’d ever wanted was to be a teacher, the very first fox in the job, but…”

“But?” she sat up. I shook my head.

“I just learned it was never going to happen,” that old bitterness crept in again. “There’s ‘nothing decent to learn from a fox’, that’s what they always told me.”

She gasped.

“Are you serious?”

“Aren’t I always?” I rolled on my stomach. “But, yeah, even the worst pred schools were too good for me, even though most of their teachers were spread so thin they might as well have not been there at all.”

I looked at her when she started fidgeting, glancing around like I’d made her nervous.

“I…I just can’t get used to this,” she curled up, burying her face in her knees. “H-How can predators still be treated so badly? It seems the only thing that’s gotten better for you is the tame collars being outlawed…”

I sighed. God, why did so many of our conversations lead to her crying?

“The sad thing is we’re grateful for even that much,” I crossed my arms under my chin. Mom used to say it was the only way I’d fall asleep as a little kid.

“A-And now with that drug making so many of you go savage, t-there’s prey mammals all over the city demanding those collars be brought back,” she started choking up. “T-They just refuse to see you’re the victims, t-they just don’t care! All they can see is—!”

“Judy!” I pushed myself up, fighting back the growl in my throat. I wasn’t pissed at her, it was everything else; I was starting to feel hopeless, and I fucking hated it. “How many times have I said that freaking out won’t solve anything? We can’t lose our focus, not if we want to stop this!”

That seemed to knock some sense into her. She nodded, rubbing her eyes and taking some deep breaths. She tried to smile, even if it was pretty shaky. I smiled back.

“How about we put this on hold and try getting some sleep? We won’t get anywhere if we’re too tired to think straight.”

She managed to giggle, a ghost of her usual determination flashing in her eyes.

“That sounds great, but…” a blush crept up her ears. “D-Do you think I could stay in here tonight? We had to put Yumiko and Rocco in my room, and you don’t have any more spare blankets, so…”

I chuckled, taking her paw and pulling her closer.

“It’s supposed to get pretty cold tonight, we can’t have you freezing to death,” I grabbed the blanket and pulled it over us. She curled right up against me, snuggling into my chest.

“This is perfect,” she yawned. “And thank you, Nick, all of you. I never would’ve…”

She trailed off again, already out cold. After what she’d told me, I couldn’t believe she really felt this safe around me, that she trusted me this much. My heart started racing as I looked down at her, nuzzling the top of her head before kissing the same spot.

_I’m really starting to fall for you, little bunny…_

* * *

It was way too early when Carrots’ phone started screeching, I’d pretty much forgotten she’d left it on the nightstand. She groaned, curling up in a tighter ball with her paws pressed to her ears. I chuckled, brushing her nose with the tip of my tail.

“I don’t think that thing’s going to stop until you answer it, Fluff.”

She kept trying to ignore it, groaning again when it started back up. She finally snatched it, stabbing the screen to accept the call.

“Yeah?” she sat up, yawning and stretching. “Yes, you woke me up, so what is it, Clawhauser?”

I chuckled, smiling back when she glared at me. She rubbed her eye, her ears flat as she hummed to whatever that crazy cheetah was saying.

“Wait, are you serious?” her eyes flashed; she’d gone from zero to sixty in half a second. “We’ll be right there!”

She hung up and dropped it on the bed, then jumped on top of me.

“We got another breakthrough, Nick!” she grabbed my shirt, almost throttling me. “We finally know where the pills came from!”

“What?!” I sat up, throwing her off. “It’s about time!”

“Well, sort of,” she sat up, rubbing the back of her head. “The lab’s only been able to trace the one bag so far, but it’s still a lot more than we had!”

“Sure is,” I kicked the rest of the blanket off. “So, where’s that bag of pills leading us?”

She grimaced.

“We’ll have to go back to Tundratown,” she hugged herself. “I was hoping we wouldn’t have to go there again until our winter coats grew in. All that snow and ice is pretty, but it’s just too freaking cold!”

I laughed.

“Well, sometimes life just sucks like that, Fluff,” I climbed off the bed, then looked back at her. “I’m guessing you don’t have some kind of formal thing besides your dress uniform?”

She shook her head.

“I can’t afford anything like that, so no,” she looked at me. “Where’s this coming from, anyway?”

I went to my dresser and started digging through it.

“Because I just remembered I know someone in Tundratown who can help us,” I smirked back at her. “We’re going to my god-sister’s wedding.”

* * *

I don’t know how I didn’t think of it earlier. There weren’t too many mammals who knew the city better than I did, but my godfather was definitely one of them. He and his team had taught me almost everything I knew. I trailed after Carrots as we walked through the station, breaking off when she started heading for what I guessed was the lab.

“You don’t have to wait around, Nick,” she turned back to look at me. “I still have to get through my shift after this, and there’s no telling how late I might have to stay. I can just catch a cab later.”

I shrugged, taking my phone from my pocket; no point in just standing around while I waited.

“Bogo actually wanted to talk with me,” I decided not to tell her he’d pretty much ordered me to be her bodyguard. I glanced around, a habit I’d picked up from my time on the streets. Leo was leaning against Spots’ desk as they talked, his paw stuffed in the same pocket I’d seen him drop a tazer in this morning. I smirked, thinking the rest of my team could learn something from him about being subtle.

“Nick!” Carrots punched my shoulder, glaring up at me. My ears flicked back.

“Sorry, Fluff,” I ran a paw through my hair. “What did you say?”

She rolled her eyes.

“I said ‘what did the Chief want to see you about?’.”

“Oh, uh,” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’ve been thinking about applying for my own PI license, but I’m still not a hundred percent sure I want to go through with it.”

She looked at me.

“But your dad was a PI,” she said. “You told me that you carried his shield around because you ‘didn’t want to make the same mistakes’.”

I sighed, shoving my phone back in my pocket.

“I know what I said, but I didn’t tell you everything,” I swallowed. “It wasn’t the job itself that got him killed, it was what he did to get the job done.”

“What?”

“He started as a normal PI,” I explained. “But over time he basically became a bounty hunter, and he didn’t care what laws he broke, who he had to hurt to get his target.”

I pulled out his badge and stared at it.

“That’s really why I carry this around,” I went on. “So I won’t forget what it stands for like he did. I’d never risk hurting an innocent just to get a mark, not even if it was the only choice I had.”

I put it away, then turned back to her.

“The band’s been awesome and all, but it’s been over ten years, and we were never going to do it forever,” I smiled, taking her shoulder. “And I’d love to be able to work with you after this, and I mean officially, not because I conned you into it.”

She laughed, then hugged me.

“Well, I’m proud of you, Nick,” she pulled back, beaming up at me. “And I think you’ll make one heck of an investigator.”

She jumped up and kissed my cheek, taking off before I was even sure she’d done it. And like a lovestruck kid in a movie, I touched the spot, staring after her with what I knew was a stupid grin on my face. Leo and everyone else in the room covered their ears when Spots squealed, but I barely heard it. I just kept watching her until her tail flicked around the corner, my heart racing the whole time.

* * *

 My talk with Bogo hadn’t gone exactly like I’d wanted it to, apparently getting locked in the nuthouse hurt a mammal’s chances of getting a shield, but he’d still said he’d see what he could do.

“So, why exactly are we going to your god-sister’s wedding?” Carrots asked. We’d been in my dad’s old office since her shift had ended, and until a few minutes ago, she’d been telling me what I’d have to do to get my PI badge. I rolled my eyes, letting the law book I’d been skimming slip from my paws.

“I’ve explained it three times already, Fluff,” I told her. “My godfather’s pretty much the only one who knows the city better than I do, so if anyone can tell us where this drug is coming from, it’s him.”

I swiped the book off the floor and shoved it back on the shelf, they were all outdated by now.

“And I’d be going whether we needed his help or not,” I went on. “He’s the main reason I’m not living in a box in an alley right now, or worse, dead.”

Her paws froze on the keyboard. She’d been looking through my dad’s old computer, once I’d gotten through his passwords and everything, reading any case files she could find. She turned the chair around to look at me.

“What do you mean?”

“I lived with him until I was about four,” I gave her as little as I could, she’d get the whole truth soon enough. “I don’t know how I ended up getting adopted by the Constantines, but he was the one who made it happen.”

I turned away when she started talking again, shaking my head and going to the door.

“I’ve had about all I can of this room for now,” I stopped in the doorway, my claws digging into the frame. “Wedding’s Friday night, so if you want to go, be ready by eight.”

I walked out before she could say anything else, my tail dragging on the floor as I trudged to my room.

 _You should’ve just kept your mouth shut,_ I pressed my back to the wall. _She’ll learn everything now, and when she does, she won’t want anything to do with you._

_Why would she now? You’re not exactly good company._

I groaned, burying my face in my paws.

_Great, now I’m arguing with myself. I really am losing it._

_Did you ever really have it to start with?_

_Okay, shut up!_

I locked my door and slammed my head against it before dropping to the floor. I should’ve just told her what she’d wanted to know at the precinct, not hustled her into letting me tag along. I stared at the ceiling, the ribs spreading out from the center point like a wooden star. It was the same room my parents had set up for me before they’d even brought me home.

 _Mom…Dad…Fin…_ I sniffed, wiping my nose with the back of my paw. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d actually cried about them. _I really miss you guys, even you, Tony…_

Tony had been fine until I’d gotten my collar, then he’d suddenly turned into a fucking sadist. He’d done whatever he could to piss me off or make me start bawling, and I’d never been able to stop myself from falling for it. Fin had caused it to go off a few times, too, because I’d either been laughing my ass off or scared for him. But in the end it hadn’t mattered why, I’d hated the damn thing more every time it had zapped me, and all I’d wanted to do was rip it off and tear to bits.

And when they’d finally been outlawed, that was exactly what I’d done. It had felt amazing, until I’d rubbed my neck, realized just how bad the scars were. After that, it hadn’t mattered that I’d never get shocked again, because I’d always have those reminders, and I knew that was exactly what Tony had wanted.

 _But why?_ I let my claws out as I stared at my paws, watching the light jump off them. _He was my brother, I’d never done anything to him, how could he have suddenly hated me so much?_

For years, that was pretty much all I’d been able to think about. Sure, he’d lost his patience and yelled at Fin, our parents, but he’d never treated any of them like he had me. Fin had been a fox, too, though, so had it been because I was the only one with a collar? Or had there been another reason, one I still couldn’t figure out? I buried my face in my paws again, and shuddered.

 _I don’t even want to think about it too long,_ I swallowed. _Besides, there’s really no understanding mammals like him…_

I forced myself to my feet, moving as slowly as I could to my bed. There weren’t usually many signs before these moods hit me, but this was one of the few it had come on with almost no warning. I crawled to the middle of my bed and curled up, hoping it would break at least a bit by Friday. I had something important to do then, and I wasn’t about to let anything ruin it, not this time.

* * *

  _“So, what made you decide we were going to be a punk band?”_

_Trevor knelt next to his kit, shining it for the third time since he’d put it together. I shrugged, taking my guitar from the case and plugging it in._

_“Most of us listen to it,” I started tuning it. “And the only way to get a message out in this city is to smash animals over the head with it."_

_Mercy messed with her tail, mine bristling when I saw her dad had burned some of the fur off it. Again._

_“But…aren’t we trying to tell prey they don’t have to be scared of us?” a few more strands fell to the floor. “Wouldn’t it be better to play something a little less…aggressive?”_

_She curled in on herself when we stared at her. Trevor shook his head._

_“It took a lemur_ killing _preds to make them toss those damn collars,” he shoved the rag in his pocket and stood. “I’m with Nick, if we want anyone to listen to us, we’ll have to be as loud and in-their-faces as possible.”_

_She still looked nervous, but I was sure it had more to do with having to get on a stage than what kind of music we’d be playing. She’d always hated being in front of crowds. I went over and touched her arm._

_“Look, Mercy,” I almost used her nickname, but I knew she’d never listen if I did. “I know performing freaks you out, but that’s the cool thing about this.”_

_I flipped on the amp and started shredding, smirking at the looks on their faces when I was done. It was the first time they’d heard just how awesome I was. I sat on the edge of the stage, starting the solo from her favorite song._

_“We’ll all be up there together, we’ll have each other’s backs like we do with everything else,” I smiled at her. “Just remember that we’re helping to change the city, because there’s no way prey will be able to ignore us now!”_

_She still looked unsure. I got up and took my guitar off, leaning it against the amp._

_“Look, it’ll be a while before we play any big crowds,” I said. “We still need a bass player and another background singer, not to mention a name and more of our own songs.”_

_My smile dropped a bit when I saw the fear in her eyes. I sighed._

_“But we also don’t want anyone doing more than they can handle, so if you really want to back out, we won’t stop you.”_

_She just stared at me, but I didn’t get why she was so shocked. Did she really think we’d force her into it? She played with her tail again, then dropped it in her lap, throwing up the salute we’d used since we were kids._

_“I’ll do it, on one condition,” she crossed her arms. “We need another girl in the group, I’m sick of being the only one.”_

_I laughed, then held out a paw._

_“You got a deal,” Mercy,” I smiled when she shook it. “Welcome to the band.”_

* * *

 “Nick?”

My ears flicked, my nose twitching as Mercy’s scent registered with me. I cracked my eyes open, groaning as I threw my tail in my face.

“Yo, Mercy,” I muttered, wishing my eyes adjusted to sunlight faster. “What’s going on?”

She glanced around before flashing a nervous smile.

“Oh, nothing,” she wouldn’t focus too long on anything. “W-What’s going on with you?”

I pulled my tail out of my face and sat up.

“You’re not exactly hard to read, Merc,” I was the only one who could get away with calling her that. “And right now, you might as well have ‘I’m terrified’ stamped on your forehead.”

She screwed with her tail before sighing, looking at me for the first time since she’d come in.

“I-I know I shouldn’t be,” she started. “But I’m worried what’ll happen if we go to that wedding, I just feel like it’s a _really_ bad idea!”

Most mammals were scared of my godfather’s family, and with good reason, but I cared about them too much to skip out on this. I got out of bed, went to my dresser and started digging through it. Maybe Carrots had a point when she’d said I should actually fold the stuff first…

“I understand if you don’t want to go, Paul’s not too behind the idea, either, but I have to,” I looked at her over my shoulder. “I’m basically alive now because of them, and there’s a good chance he’ll be able to tell us where this drug’s been coming from. We might finally be able to break this case!”

She shoved her paws through her hair; it was only about half purple by now, the rest as white as ever.

“I-I know, but…” she threw her paws down, shaking her head. “Nick, this guy’s not only drugged our fans, and now kids, he almost killed Judy, and that whole wedding’s going to be filled with mammals you care about. I just know he’s going to try something!”

I sighed, shoving my clothes on top of the dresser.

“I know that, Merc, but I can’t let it stop me. This case has dragged on for months already,” I added. “Either we get the lead from my godfather, or the perp does try something and we catch him. Either way, it’s too big of a chance to miss.”

I went over and put a paw on hers, she was starting to shake a bit.

“You and Paul don’t have to go,” I said. “But Carrots and I don’t have a choice. I’m one of the only mammals my godfather actually trusts, and I couldn’t do much without a cop there, and you know I’d want to be there, anyway.”

I didn’t usually have to repeat myself with her, until it came to risks she didn’t think were worth it, then there was no telling how long she’d argue about it. But this time, she surprised me.

“I still don’t like it, but I can’t let you guys do this alone,” she stood up. “I’ll go, and that means Paul will come, too. We’ll have each other’s backs, just like always.”

I smiled, throwing up that old salute.

“Just like always.”

We laughed, then she glanced at the clock on my nightstand.

“Hey, do you think you be ready in about an hour? Judy and I had to push our shopping trip to this morning because her shift ran long yesterday, and I get the feeling she doesn’t want to go without you.”

I groaned again, should’ve seen that coming.

“Yeah, I can swing that,” I glared at her. “But you better not pull any of the stunts you always do, I will fight back this time!”

She laughed again, failing miserably at looking innocent.

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about, Slick,” she skipped to the hallway. “Judy and I will be waiting on the porch for you, so don’t take too long!”

She threw up a wave and shut the door. I rolled my eyes, running a paw through my hair.

 _Ugh, Mom was right, I’ll never get girls…_ I shivered. _And I really don’t think I want to…_


	8. Chapter 8

_Why the hell did I agree to this?_

That had been going through my head on repeat for the last two hours. I knew Mercy would spend the whole week looking at clothes if she were allowed to, we’d had to drag her from stores after closing time more than once, but it was the last thing I’d expected from Carrots. She’d just seemed like the type to look, buy and split as fast as she could.

“Ooh, Mercy, check _this_ one out!”

I rubbed a paw over my eyes, trying to drown out their squealing. They’d already tried to drag me into it a few times, I deserved some kind of medal for being able to resist those ‘kicked baby’ looks they’d hit me with. I already knew Carrots wasn’t above trying to hustle mammals to get what she wanted; she wasn’t as obvious with it now, but it was still pretty easy to tell when she was just trying to get under my fur.

 _“Those ugly shirts you like will only work for so long, Slick,”_ it was the last line she’d tried before giving up. She’d tugged at the one I’d thrown on this morning, the same blue and white one from when I’d shown her around the city. I’d grabbed the gray pants I always wore with it out of habit, trying not to think she might actually have a point. _“Sooner or later, someone with a big mouth and good wifi will figure it out, then you’ll have to find a whole new disguise.”_

I grabbed my phone from my pocket, feeling the glare of a panda on my tail as I dropped in one of the chairs by the fitting rooms. I kept an ear out for Mercy and Carrots as I looked around Furbook, trying to find any other leads we might have missed. Besides shooting at the precinct, there hadn’t been any focused attacks since we’d sprung those preds from Meadowbrook, but that didn’t mean anyone had let their guard down. If anything, the city was just getting more nervous, all that ‘calm before the storm’ crap and everything.

But at least now we could just focus on finding where this drug was coming from, which would hopefully lead to whoever was behind it all, then we’d finally be able to find a cure and bury this case. But I’d be an idiot to think everything would just magically change after that. This whole thing had scarred mammals, in several cases, literally, and it would be a hell of a long time before any of them actually healed, if they ever did at all.

“Hey, Nick!”

My ears flicked at Carrots’ voice, the new kind of excitement I wasn’t used to hearing. They’d spent the last half hour putting together the weirdest outfits they could find, and while it’d been kind of funny at first, it had just gotten grating, like pretty much everything else about the day so far. I smirked at the frustrated grunt she let out, like a little kid who thought she wasn’t getting enough attention.

“Nick, I’m going to shove that phone down your throat if you don’t put it down,” her foot was thumping. “Now quit ignoring me and look!”

I planned to glance at her, just long enough to cool her off, but then I couldn’t stop the gasp that slipped out, my phone dropping to the floor as my paw went numb.

“ _Wow…_ ”

Damn it, even I could hear how awestruck I sounded. The dress on its own wouldn’t be anything special: off-shoulder, short sleeves and skirt, and what had just become my favorite shade of blue. Like the sky at noon on a clear day. It set off her fur in a way nothing else had, made her eyes stand out even more than they usually did. Her ears were as red as I knew mine were, falling flat against her back as she walked toward me. I smiled, brushing her cheek with the backs of my fingers.

“You look incredible,” I still sounded dazed, but now I didn’t care. I glanced at her lips, her big front teeth chewing the bottom one as her paw hovered by my chest. But I was sure she could still feel how hard my heart was going. Her paws slid over my shoulders as I took her waist, her breath shaking against my nose…

“Ma-ma…”

She pulled back when a bunny kit, barely old enough to walk, hugged her leg. But he was staring straight ahead, almost like he couldn’t see her.

“Poor kid,” I watched as she picked him up, bouncing him a bit to keep him calm. “He must be blind…”

“I’ll see if I can find his mom, or at least someone who can page her over the intercom,” she looked at me, her ears getting pink again. “Sorry about this, Slick…”

I smiled, shaking my head.

“Don’t worry about it, Carrots,” I looked at the kid. “We can’t let him keep wandering around on his own.”

She nodded, then nuzzled my cheek before kissing it.

“I’ll be back soon, okay?”

She walked off with him, and just like before, I couldn’t stop myself from touching that spot, my tail thumping a bit against the chair as I watched her go. She glanced over her shoulder, her ears getting darker when she saw me, and all I could think was that she really was one incredible bunny. And I was proud to be by her side.

* * *

We didn’t see much of Carrots the next couple days; there’d been an armed robbery at one of the bigger banks downtown, and she and her partner had been the first cops on the scene. Which apparently meant a whole lot of paperwork and junk, but at least no one had been hurt. She’d also gone back to her apartment after Zariah had been hospitalized, saying she’d rather be close to the precinct until things calmed down a bit.

I’ve been a work-out nut since I was a kid, and I’d only gotten more obsessed while I’d been stuck at Meadowbrook, since I hadn’t been allowed to keep my guitar, some shit about the strings being a safety hazard. I’d been pushing myself pretty hard the last few days, since I’d been slacking off so much the last couple months. It also helped clear my head, something I’d needed a lot more than I’d thought, and I’d finally figured out just what had been happening to me.

I was falling in love with Judy Hopps, something I’d been sure I hadn’t been capable of anymore, after all the shit I’d been through. But what surprised me was that I wasn’t freaking out about it, and I’d realized it had started pretty much on day one, because she’d never been afraid of me, hadn’t needed any proof she could trust me. She just had, and I didn’t think I’d ever be able to put into words how much that meant to me, but I was sure as hell ready to try.

I was hanging by my knees from an old pipe in my ceiling when her scent hit me, making me lose the half-brained count of the sit-ups I’d done. She stopped a few feet from me, and I couldn’t help the smile that took over my face.

“What happened, Carrots?” I grunted as I pushed through another. “Buffalo Butt finally…get sick of you?”

She rolled her eyes.

“Har, har,” she put her paws on her hips. “Bogo basically ordered me to take the rest of the week off, said he ‘didn’t want me burning out too quickly’.”

I chuckled, getting three more in before deciding to call it quits. I let go of the bar, landing in a neat crouch in front of her.

“He has a point, Fluff,” I got to my feet, crossing my arms. “You said yourself you usually go in on your days off, you’ve got to give yourself a break.”

She shook her head.

“You know I can’t do that, Nick,” she argued. “Not with the mammals responsible for all this still out there!”

I sighed, dragging my claws through my hair.

“I know how serious this is, but you’re acting like you’re the only one working this case,” I’d noticed it a while ago, but hadn’t said anything. “Half the cops in the city have been assigned to it, you can afford to take some time off.”

I waited for her to say something else about how she was fine, that she had to prove she could do this job like she always did, but it never happened. I saw the look on her face, realized she hadn’t heard me at all just now. I smirked, thinking I’d have some fun with her.

“I’ve been called drool-worthy before,” I swiped my thumb along her chin. “But I didn’t think it was literal.”

She squeaked, jumping back and covering her face with her paws. I laughed when she glared at me.

“Very funny, you little smartass,” she put her paws on her hips again, but it was hard to miss how red her ears were. “The guy voted ‘sexiest mammal’ last year is standing shirtless in front of me, and you thought I _wouldn’t_ start staring?”

She shook her head, smirking back at me.

“I thought you were smarter than that, Nick.”

I rolled my eyes, grabbing my water bottle from the floor and knocking back what was left. I’d only agreed to do that stupid cover because they’d made a donation in my name to a children’s home.

“Not like it’s the first time you’ve seen me like this,” I reminded her. She bit her lip, her ears getting darker.

“I know, but it _is_ the first time I’ve actually been paying attention,” she looked at the floor. “I didn’t think foxes could even get this bulky.”

I shrugged, stuffing my paws in my pockets.

“We usually can’t, not without some kind of help,” my tail flicked. I’d been accused of doping a few times already. “But I’ve got some kind of myostatin thing, it’s pretty common in Stonewood.”

She looked at me.

“Stonewood? I don’t think you’ve ever mentioned that place before.”

I rubbed the back of my neck.

“My birthparents were refugees,” I started. “Back then, there was only one hospital in the city that let foxes anywhere near it, and it just happened to be the worst one.”

I swallowed, she was one of the only mammals I’d told all this to.

“My mom died of blood loss after she had me, and Dad couldn’t take care of me on his own,” I dragged in a breath. “That was how he got involved with my godfather, it was the only job he could get that wouldn’t have left us on the street.”

I stared out the window. Clouds were starting to build, thunder rumbling in the distance.

“But then a few weeks after I was baptized,” I choked a bit. “H-He ended up on the wrong side of a gun…”

She gasped, and I felt her paws on the one clenched at my side.

“Oh, Nick…”

She leaned against my arm, my tail brushing against her legs.

“I was only six months old,” I went on, unable to keep the growl from my voice. I knew why it had happened, and I still couldn’t forgive the mammals who’d taken them from me. “I never got to know him, or my mom, I don’t even know what they looked like!”

I threw the water bottle I’d forgotten I was holding; it bounced off the wall before rolling back to us. Carrots let go of me and grabbed it, putting it on the trunk at the foot of my bed.

“I…I can’t even begin to understand what you must be going through right now, Nick,” she said, and I hoped to God she never could. She looked up at me, my gut twisting when I saw the tears in her eyes. “I-I’m so sorry, Nick, you’re the last mammal to deserve any of that, t-there has to be _something_ we can—!”

I traced a claw over her lips, then cupped her cheek.

“It doesn’t matter right now, Judy,” I said quietly. “What’s important is finding the mammals behind this drug, we have to stop them and find a cure before even more mammals are hurt.”

I glanced away and dragged in a breath.

“And you’ve already done so much for me, Fluff,” I went on, taking her shoulders. “But that’s my battle, and I don’t want to risk you getting hurt from it.”

She sniffled, then shook her head, hugging me and burying her face in my chest.

“I don’t care about that, Nick,” I could barely hear her. “I want to help you, and you should know by now that you won’t be able to stop me.”

I chuckled, tilting her head back.

“And you call me stubborn,” I knew my ears were as red as hers when I leaned closer, freezing when she jumped to meet me halfway. She pulled away before I could do anything, and the next thing I knew she’d already taken off. I went after her, not catching more than a glimpse of her tail until she stopped on the back porch, dropping to her knees and knocking her head against the railing.

“Oh, sweet cheese…” her voice shook. “I-I can’t believe I just did that…”

“Neither can I, Fluff,” I knelt behind her and took her paw, tightening my grip when she tried to twist out of it. “Why would you kiss me, and then just run off like that?”

She shook her head, not looking at me.

“I-I’ve wanted to since high school,” she admitted. “And when Chief Bogo picked me for this case, I couldn’t get to All Saints fast enough to question you.”

She finally turned, leaning into my chest.

“You’ve been a role model for me, Nick,” she went on. “A-And I thought you could never feel the same about me that I’ve always—”

I tilted her chin back, and kissed her, feeling her paws tighten in my fur. She stared at me when I ended it, her mouth slack.

“You’ve been right about a lot of things during this case, Judy,” I told her. “But I’m happy to say this wasn’t one of them.”

I pulled her closer, and kissed her again. She sighed, nuzzling my neck.

“I can’t wait until tomorrow night,” she said softly. “I’ll finally get to meet the mammals who helped make you the amazing fox you are.”

I hoped she couldn’t feel the jolt that went through me, praying she wouldn’t hate me when she found out the truth.

 _Please,_ I begged silently, hugging her tightly. _If anything’s supposed to go right for me, please let it be this…_

* * *

“Well, this is embarrassing…”

I’d spent the last ten minutes screwing around with my tie. Paul rolled his eyes, shoving my paws out of the way as he knelt down to it himself.

“You’re lucky _one_ of us knows how to do this…” he finished in a few seconds, throwing my jacket at me before getting up. “What time’s this supposed to start again?”

“Seven,” I glanced at my watch. Carrots had talked us all into getting ready early, so we still had an hour before our ride even showed up. I pulled on my jacket, looking up to see him watching me.

“Any reason you keep staring at me like that?” I went for the door, jumping back when he pushed it shut.

“I saw you and Judy on the porch yesterday,” he said. “You sure you want to go through with this?”

“Of course I am,” I didn’t hesitate. I’d never felt more sure of anything. He looked at me, then grabbed his jacket and pulled it on. I didn’t have to ask what he was worried about, I didn’t exactly have the best dating history. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand, barely noticing when he walked out. Rocco had answered the text I’d sent earlier, saying there still hadn’t been any change in the victims, and that three more kids from Zariah’s school had gotten hold of the drug. My grip tightened, my claws starting to scratch the edge of the screen. I told him our new lead would likely lead to the source, and hopefully a cure. I also apologized again for getting everyone into this mess, swearing I wouldn’t stop until I’d fixed it. I shoved it in my pocket and hit the hallway, calming down the second I heard Judy’s voice.

“Y-You really think it looks good?” she sounded nervous. Mercy giggled.

“It looks amazing, Judy,” she said. “No one will be able to take their eyes off you!”

Carrots sighed.

“That’s not really helping, Mercy,” she returned. “We’re going to someone else’s _wedding,_ I’m not supposed to be the center of attention!”

“That’s what the caplet is for,” Mercy assured her. “But don’t put it on until the guys see you, okay?”

She groaned.

“Fine, but did you see where I left my ear chain? It was my grandmother’s.”

I stopped listening, heading downstairs before they noticed me eavesdropping. Paul was pacing around on the porch, messing with his cuffs.

“Mercy told me how worried she is about tonight,” he stopped when he saw me. “You sure you still want to go?”

I shut the door, leaning against the wall as I checked my watch again. Fifteen minutes down, forty-five to go.

“I’ve already explained everything to her,” I looked at him. “I’d be going even if we didn’t have this crazy drug case to worry about, but that doesn’t mean you two have to.”

He sat on the step rail.

“And I’m sure she’s already told you that we wouldn’t let you do this alone, even if you’d still have Judy with you,” he rubbed the front of his neck. “But I will say I’m not too excited about seeing them again.”

I winced. It had been a few years since they’d met my godfather, and it hadn’t exactly gone smoothly.

“You guys paid him back, though,” I told him. “He said it was water under the bridge, remember?”

He still looked skeptical. He put his paws on his knees.

“I just wish you’d tell us _how_ you ended up getting involved with that family in the first place.”

It was one of the only thing he and the others didn’t know about me, not the whole story, at least.

“He was friends with my birth dad,” I turned away, shoving down the stale guilt. “Enough that he made him my godfather, what more do you need to know?”

His eyes were the same brown a lot of lynxes had, and he was usually pretty easy-going, but the look he gave me then would’ve made any other mammal crack. The only reason I didn’t was because I’d taught him how to do it in the first place.

“You won’t get away with lying to me forever,” he got up; he was only a head or so taller, but right then he might as well have been Bogo. “One of these days, I’ll find out the truth, whether I get it from you or not.”

I gulped, tugging at my collar. Then I shoved the fear back, glaring up at him.

“I liked you better as mister shy guy.”

He smirked at me, straightening his jacket.

“Better get used to it, Slick,” he said. “Because that scaredy cat’s long gone.”

I rolled my eyes, about to tell him off when the door opened behind me. I looked over my shoulder, my jaw dropping.

Judy’s dress was dark pink, one-shoulder, more form-fitting and trailed a little. She had a gold chain around her ear, with a rose charm that matched her bracelet. She caught me staring and threw that caplet thing around her, clipping it at her neck. I still couldn’t look away, not until Mercy decided to scare the shit out of me.

“Dang, Nick,” she wolf-whistled. “I forgot how good you look when you actually try!”

I chuckled when Paul growled a bit.

“Not my fault I clean up better than you, bud,” I straightened my jacket, took Carrots’ paw and pulled her to my side. “But you can’t get too jealous, I’m not the only one with a gorgeous girl on my arm tonight!”

Her ears turned pink as her dress, Mercy giggling as she swept past us, taking his wrist and tugging him back inside.

“You guys should probably stay out here for a while,” she smirked. “I’m going to show this lynx just how jealous of you he _shouldn’t_ be.”

She threw up a wave.

“Have fun!”

I looked at Judy when the door slammed shut; she was smoothing out her dress, her other paw still caught in mine. It was hard to miss the nervous glint in her eyes when she finally faced me.

“Something on your mind?”

She shook her head.

“No, just thinking,” she glanced past me, her ears getting darker. “But can we wait somewhere else? It’s getting a little _too_ easy to hear what’s going on in there…”

My ears flicked back, my tail frizzing. I didn’t want to know what else she could hear.

“Right,” I pulled her down the steps. The driveway was pretty long, lined by trees and a couple benches my dad had put in before I’d come along. She walked into me when I stopped short by one of them, turning to kneel in front of her.

“Did I ever tell you you’re a really bad liar, Fluff?” I tapped her nose, it’d been twitching since she’d gotten outside, and likely even before that. “This thing’s a dead give-away.”

She glared at me, swatting my paw away.

“I’m a cop,” she said evenly. “I’m not _supposed_ to be a good liar!”

I rolled my eyes, brushing off my knee as I stood, helping her settle on the bench next to me. It was a clear night, and warmer than it usually got this time of year. I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer, thinking things were about as perfect as they could be.

“Hey, Nick?” she’d never sounded so small. “D…Do you think we’ll ever solve this?”

I looked at her.

“You’ve been sure we would since day one,” I told her. She shook her head, turning away from me.

“T-That was true when this all started,” she stared at the seat, rubbing her arm. “But now that it’s gotten this big? I-I’m not so sure we’ll…”

I heard her sniffle, tilted her chin back to see her eyes glinting with tears. I hugged her, pressing my nose between her ears.

“I-I’m scared, Nick…”

“I know,” I rubbed her back, kissing the top of her head. “But you’re not alone in this, sweetheart. You never were, and I promise, you never will be…”

* * *

All the scent block in the world wouldn’t have been enough to hide what Mercy and Paul had been up to, even with the open windows and them being on the other side of a bear-sized limo.

“Hey, Nick?”

Carrots cuddled closer to me, her ears flat, nose twitching again. She still looked worried, her paws clutching at the neck of her caplet.

“Yeah, Fluff?”

She swallowed, her head dropping back to my chest. Her next breath was shaky, and her ears started trembling.

“I-I really like you, Nick,” she went on after a while, her voice still low. “A-And I know you feel the same about me, b-but things are just moving so fast, a-and this is such a big case, I…”

She trailed off, her grip tightening on my shirt before she looked back up at me.

“I-I just feel like we might be moving _too_ fast,” she swallowed, and for a second, I smelled tears. “I-I don’t want to lose what we have, really I don’t, b-but I just don’t think I’m ready for it all.”

She looked up at me, blinking away tears again.

“Y-You understand that…don’t you?”

I smiled, brushing her cheek.

“Of course I do, Judy,” I kissed her forehead. “And it’s been a long time since I really felt like this about anyone, I didn’t even think I _could_ after…”

It was my turn to trail off, to look away as my ears went flat against my head. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d thought about… _her,_ telling myself I’d already gotten past what she’d pulled, but the doubt had suddenly come flooding back. The same fear that told me no one could actually care about me that much, that the girls who came after me were only interested in one thing, and would be gone by morning.

“Nick?” a small, soft pair of paws pressed against my shirt, her voice soft and worried. I focused on her again, flashing a smile I was sure looked as hollow as it felt.

“Nothing, Fluff, just an old disappointment,” I ran my claws down the back of her neck, her ears shooting straight up. She bit her lip as she watched me, and I kissed her forehead again. “But I think it would be a good idea to slow things down between us, at least until this whole mess is over. What do you think?”

She smiled a bit, hugging me and resting her head back on my chest.

“I’d like that.”

I smiled, hugging her back as I rolled up the window. We’d just started through the tunnel to Tundra Town, not much longer now. She sighed into my shirt, curling up as much as she could in her dress. It was hard to keep my paws from wandering, she gasped as I suddenly dug my claws into her side to keep them still. It fit her perfectly, leaving me to imagine all the ways I could get her out of it. I bit back a groan, hoping she hadn’t felt the shiver that went through me.

“Everything okay?”

I froze, then shook my head.

“Just getting antsy, Fluff,” it was partially true. “I don’t usually sit in one place this long.”

I smirked at her, leaning in until my nose brushed her ear.

“But I have to say, as great as you look in pink,” I licked the edge, chuckling when she shivered. “I think you look even better in blue.”

It had just the effect I was going for, her blush getting darker before she buried her face in my side again,

“N-No fair,” she muttered. “You’re so much better at this than I am!”

I chuckled, sliding a paw under her caplet to grab her waist.

“Comes with the territory, sweetheart,” I kissed the top of her head. She giggled, pulling back to look at me.

“Be honest,” her eyes narrowed. “How many times has that silver tongue of yours gotten you into trouble?”

I laughed again.

“More than I’ll ever admit,” I put my other paw behind my head. “But it’s gotten me out of just as many scrapes, if not more.”

She groaned, punching my shoulder.

“That ego of yours is going to be a problem, I just know it,” she smirked back at me. “But I’m sure you’ll find some of my little quirks just as annoying.”

I chuckled.

“Like the fact you always have to get the last word in?” I rotated my shoulder. “Or that you might just be the most violent rabbit I’ve ever met?”

She giggled again.

“You know you love me.”

I went stiff, so she had heard that.

“ _Do_ I know that?” I took her hips, tapping her nose with mine. “Yes, I think I do.”

* * *

_This was the last place I’d expected to see Dad, but with how things had gone for him the last few years, I guessed I should’ve seen it coming. I was sixteen today, and they’d let me leave Meadowbrook for a few hours to see him. Mom wasn’t there, everyone had said she’d stopped visiting months ago, but hadn’t told me why, and Tony was apparently doing six years in the big house. I didn’t give a shit what he was in for, just as long as I never had to see his damn face again._

_I rubbed the collar stuck locked around my neck. Someone had already killed four preds with the damn things, but that hadn’t stopped prey from making us wear them. I barely felt the shocks from mine anymore, I got pissed off so easily now I’d just started to tune the pain out. The only other fox there, a real wiz-kid, had also hacked into all the collars to turn the shocks down. Not enough to be noticed by the staff, but at least our hearts wouldn’t explode if it lasted more than ten seconds._

_I looked up when someone touched my shoulder; a jaguar, one of the first preds allowed in an actual medical school. I turned back to my dad, not bothering to even try crying. I t’d been years since I let myself feel something like that, and I was going to keep it that way._

_“He’s not going to make it this time, is he?”_

_She shook her head._

_“I’m afraid not, I’m sorry,” she let go of me. “His liver just can’t take any more, and he’s too far gone at this point for a transplant.”_

_That was what I didn’t get. Dad had always hated anything to do with booze, but then overnight he’d apparently gotten addicted to the shit._

_“Your family’s given their permission to pull the plug,” the doc started. “I’ll give you a moment to say your goodbyes.”_

_She walked out before I could say anything. I swallowed hard, walking to the bed and staring down at a mammal I barely even knew. His hair was falling out all over the place, and he was scrawny his skin was almost hanging off him. This couldn’t be the same zebra who’d tackled rhinos and tigers and won, who’d never given up n matter how bad things got._

I can’t believe it…

_It wasn’t the first time I’d seen him like this, but as close as those shaves had been, he’d never gotten anywhere near this bad, when the only thing keeping him going were all the machines he was stuck to. But as much as it shocked me, even scared me, I still couldn’t cry. I’d sobbed my head off when Fin had died, when they’d barely managed to bring Mom back, when they’d dropped me at Meadowbrook after I’d almost ripped Tony’s head off._

_But that sad little crybaby was gone now. I was as sly and cold as mammals always accused us of being, a fox part of me still didn’t want to be. But it didn’t matter. I was in the real world now, where caring about anyone but myself was the fastest way to get me killed._

_And that was_ never _going to be part of the plan._

* * *

“So, are you ever going to tell me who your godfather is?”

I’d been tuning Carrots out for the last ten minutes, thinking about when I’d taken my birth dad’s place in my godfather’s lineup.

And according to everyone who’d known him, I’d done a damn good job of it.

That didn’t mean I was proud of it, though. _Tate_ had seen to it that I’d never had to take care of anything too messy, but I’d still been part of things I never would’ve been otherwise, all because I’d been too scared to go back to the streets. I’d tried going back to my family a few times, but it had never worked, and by the time I’d turned eighteen, I’d cut ties with them completely. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d spoken to any of them.

That hadn’t stopped me from wanting to apologize, though, for not being the mammal they’d wanted, for causing so much trouble for them, for not being there when they’d needed me most.

I still dreamt about telling them all that, and all they’d do was smile, nuzzle me like they’d always done when I’d been a kit. Then they’d start crying, saying nothing that had happened was my fault, that they should’ve taken care of Tony earlier. My mom would come closer then, saying that, no matter what had happened in the past, or what might come in the future, she and Dad would always be proud of me. Then she’d call me a good boy, and I’d stand there feeling like I’d just ripped my own heart out.

I’d never gotten the chance to tell them the whole story, and now, it was too late.

I shook my head, forcing the thoughts back. I had something a lot more important to focus on now, and I wasn’t about to let myself lose her.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” I managed to smirk at her. “We’re almost there.”

A minute after I said that, we stopped in front of the tallest building in Tundra Town, the High Water Hotel. It was a ritzy place, my godfather’s favorite to do business, where his family had gotten married since they’d set down roots here. Preds of all sizes and species stepped out of a line of high-end cars, the sleek paint jobs gleaming in the lights coming off the hotel. They hadn’t spared any expense on themselves, either, and while it was easy to take second glances at some of them, I only cared about the bunny next to me, one of the only prey there.

She spent a few more seconds gawking, her tail and ears high and flicking in excitement. But then she froze, gulping as she dropped to her knees on the seat.

“Y-You didn’t tell me Silano Big was going to be here!”

I looked again, seeing two polar bears towering over almost everyone else, standing on each side of the front doors. Raymond and Kevin had basically been my babysitters while I’d lived at the old Big mansion, Kevin holding a tiny leather chair I could barely see. I turned back to Carrots, rubbing my neck as I flashed a guilty smile..

“Uh, I should’ve said this earlier…” I said. “But…Silano Big is my godfather. Surprise!”

She just stared at me before groaning, dropping her face in her paws.

“Freaking carrot sticks!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m surprised no one noticed the MLP reference I snuck into this thing: Meadowbrook’s one of the legends from “olden pony times” and is mentioned in several episodes of the show.
> 
> And I changed the dress Judy shows Nick while they’re shopping because it sounded too much like Elsa’s from Frozen, and I’m not exactly a fan of that movie.


	9. Chapter 9

I’d never been so scared of a mammal in my life. Carrots stood in font of me, arms crossed, foot tapping at mach one, glaring at me so hard I was surprised I could face it.

“Why didn’t you freaking _tell_ me your godfather was one of the _biggest crime bosses_ in the country?!”

Her high-pitched shouting didn’t help anything. I groaned, not even bothering to pretend to look for blood on my paws when I pulled them off my ears.

“Because I knew exactly what you would think about it,” I glared back at her. “He’s the biggest reason even more preds aren’t stuck on the streets, he gives us a chance when most of the city won’t even look at us!”

I didn’t notice how close I’d gotten to her until our noses touched, but it didn’t do much to calm either of us down, not this time.

“Look, Carrots,” I shoved out a breath, forcing myself to cool off before glancing at Paul and Mercy. I motioned for them to head in without us, growling low in my throat when they didn’t get the message. It didn’t take them much longer to split. “We both know the story that’s spread about this town, how we all get along and sing Kumba-freaking-ya, and we both know it’s complete bullshit.”

I stared at the row of seats across from us.

“This place is only on your side if you’re the right species. It helps if you have bank,” I added, remembering how many mammals had kissed up once I’d flashed cash. “But even the poorest prey are still better off than most preds.”

I turned back to her, hating the pain I saw in her eyes.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed it by now: the wrong side of the law is the easiest, and sometimes the only way for us to get off the streets,” I took her paws. “The only way that’s going to change is if prey decide to stop treating us like shit, and we both know it’s not going to happen, not in the way it needs to.”

She pulled away, screwing with her clothes as she kept that flighty little stare anywhere but me. When she finally did look at me, her eyes were hard, filled with determination.

“That’s exactly why I decided to transfer here,” she started. “I want to help predators get the rights and privileges you should’ve had right from the start, even if I have to change one mind at time.”

She pushed me back against the seat, keeping her paws on my chest.

“I’m not going to let you all keep fighting alone,” her voice cracked, but she threw on a smile. “And who knows, this case may be just what we need to really get the ball rolling!”

I’d heard prey talk like that before, but it had always been obvious they’d never meant it, or believed in it like she did. Even I was starting to think we could actually make a difference. I smiled at her.

“Okay, I’ll be part of this little crusade of yours, Fluff,” I cupped her cheek. “If you promise to do something for me first.”

She put a paw over mine.

“You know I’d do anything for you, Nick.”

I pulled her down, hugging her tightly.

“I want you to stay by my side, Judy,” I said quietly, fighting my own tears. “No matter what happens.”

She sniffled, rooting through the fur on my neck.

“You don’t have to ask me that, Nick,” she whispered. “I’ve already promised to.”

She shifted again, then kissed me, and I couldn’t stop myself from moaning into it. I’d kissed a lot of girls over the years, but it had never felt right like this, not even with…

She pulled away, her ears bright red; she pulled one over her shoulder and started stroking it.

“And right after I asked if we could take things slow,” she shook her head. “I-I’m sorry, Nick, I don’t know what…”

She trailed off as I traced my thumb along her lip, tilting her chin back to kiss her again. Her paws tightened on my shirt before sliding up, her arms wrapping around my neck as I pressed my teeth against hers. I licked her lips when I ended it, smirking when I saw her twitching nose and big, sparkling eyes.

“Three months is long enough to take things slow, don’t you think?”

She giggled.

“Do I think that?” she hugged me, snuggling into my chest. “Yes, I think I do.”

* * *

“Ah, Nicky, I was hoping you would come.”

I chuckled, leaning close to the shrew as he kissed my cheeks. He’d done it since I was a kid, and while I’d never really gotten it, it felt nice knowing he liked me enough to do it. He and my godsister were also the only ones who still called me Nicky.

“I wouldn’t have missed it, _Tate,_ ” I rubbed the back of my neck. “And I’m sorry I haven’t been around more, it’s just been pretty crazy lately.”

He nodded, waving a paw toward the doors.

“I understand, son,” he stopped when he saw Carrots, standing silently next to me with her paw in the crook of my arm. Her claws dug in as he looked her over, but other than that, she looked calm and collected as always. “And who might this be?”

She swallowed.

“My name’s Judy Hopps,” she held out a finger to shake his paw. “I’m a close friend of Nick’s, but I’m afraid he hasn’t told me much about you, sir.”

She glanced sidelong at me; I cleared my throat, messing with the knot of my tie. He chuckled.

“Is that so? Well, we’ll just have to correct that now, won’t we?” he waved at Kevin to start walking. “Now, let’s take this conversation inside, this old fur doesn’t handle the cold as well as it used to.”

Raymond stayed outside to guard the door as the rest of us headed inside. The little talk Carrots and I had had in the car made it so we were the last ones in; she edged closer to me as more mammals started openly staring at us, most of them with disgust. There was no way they wouldn’t know she was a cop, her graduation had been on the news for a week, but I was sure most of it had to do with the fact she was a bunny. She was a bunny and I was a fox, two species no one really liked, showing up at a high-end place like this and getting cozy with the big guy right off the bat. Beyond a few glances, I didn’t pay much attention to them, what did I care how any of them felt about us? All that mattered to me was Judy, and if she was happy, then so was I.

“I-I’m sorry to say the wedding isn’t the only reason we’re here, sir,” she was standing as close to him as she could, her voice low. “I’m afraid we have other reasons for being here…”

I bit back a groan, tightening my hold on her arm. I’d been hoping we’d at least be able to get through the ceremony before starting to talk business, even though I knew she’d never have waited that long.

“I thought that would be the case, officer,” he waved again for Kevin to stop, waiting until everyone else had gone ahead of us. “That was part of the reason I was so insistent that Nicky join us tonight. I wish to help you in your investigation, in any way I can.”

I’d never doubted that he’d agree to help us. He’d always hated anything to do with drugs, especially once kids were involved. And despite what he had to do to stay on top of a criminal empire, he wasn’t a bad guy. He didn’t trust mammals easily, but once someone did earn it, they were family, and he never turned his back on family.

“Thank you so much, sir,” she had a big, grateful smile on her face. He held out a paw.

“It’s my pleasure, child, but let us worry about business later,” he looked up at Kevin. “I still have a daughter to give away, after all.”

She waved as he walked away, then jumped up and hugged me, almost sending us both to the floor.

“Oh, Nick, this is incredible! This might be the last piece we need to solve this case!”

I chuckled, holding her just as tightly before putting her down.

“I know, I can’t wait to…” I trailed off, my fur starting to stand on end as I looked around. That feeling from the dock was back, along with that scent I still couldn’t place, but I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. My ears twitched as I tried to listen, but I couldn’t hear much of anything over the guests, most of who had probably already forgotten we existed.

 _And this smell…_ I knew I’d been around it before, but I couldn’t get the blurry picture in my head to clear up. I shook it off when her paw tightened on my arm, her voice small and concerned.

“Nick, are you okay?”

I forced myself to nod, no point in worrying her when I couldn’t even be sure about it. I put a paw on hers and kissed her ear, chuckling when I felt her tense and shiver.

“I’m doing just fine, sweetheart,” I smiled at her. “Now come on, we’ve still got a long, boring wedding to sit through.”

She stifled a snort.

“Don’t let the bride hear you say that, Slick, you wouldn’t get out alive.”

I flashed a smug smile, licking the rim of her ear before biting it. She pressed a paw to her mouth, part of the moan still slipping out.

“I survived twelve years on the streets and three months with a kick-ass little bunny,” I said quietly. “I think I can handle one little shrew.”

* * *

I didn’t hear one word of the ceremony. I couldn’t stop thinking about that scent, the fact I seemed to know it, but didn’t have any real memory of it. Where had I smelled it before, and why the hell did it scare me so much?

_What the hell’s going on here?_

I felt a paw on my arm, looking to see Carrots watching me. My heart started racing when I remembered what had changed between us, and part of me just wanted to keep riding that high, to forget Baby Blues and everything connected to it. To just take this bunny and run off with her, somewhere we’d never have to worry about what animals thought, where I’d never stop showing her how much she meant to me. I leaned forward and nuzzled her ear, hoping she could hear me over all the cheering.

“I’m fine, sweetheart,” I smiled, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “Just getting antsy again.”

She shook her head.

“I know you better than that, Slick,” she told me. “You’ve said yourself this is what happens when you get nervous, remember?”

I rolled my eyes, I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut during interviews. I took her paw when she started getting up, waiting until everyone else had hit the reception hall.

“I’ve been picking up that smell from the docks,” I kept my voice low. “But I still have no idea why it’s so familiar, and it’s driving me nuts.”

I dragged in a breath.

“I wasn’t sure if it was actually connected at first,” I went on. “Or if it was just some freak coincidence. But smelling it here, now, there’s no doubt who or whatever it belongs to is involved somehow.”

She wrapped her arms around mine, leaning against my side.

“We still have to talk to Mr. Big,” she said, and I could tell she was scared. “He might be able to give us some insight on that.”

“Maybe,” I got up and took her paw, her claws digging in a bit as it twitched. “Come on, we shouldn’t drag too far behind, I don’t want Fru-Fru knowing we’ve got ulterior motives for coming tonight.”

She pulled away from me.

“I still can’t believe she’s Mr. Big’s daughter,” she hugged herself. “I mean, we were roommates and best friends in college, and she never mentioned _anything_ about this!”

She’d explained all that while we’d waited for our ride to show up. It was the last thing I’d expected to hear, and one of the only things Fru had never told me about, at least not the whole story.

“That’s not exactly something a mammal can just throw around, Carrots,” I looked at her. “How do you think animals would react if you said your dad was one of the biggest crime bosses ever?”

She winced.

“Guess you have a point there,” she rubbed her arm. “Still, we talked about _everything_ else, I even told her the first dream I had about _you_!”

She threw her paws over her mouth.

“Oh, sweet cheese and crackers,” she turned away, her ears bright red. “D-Did I really just say that? Out _loud_? To _you_ of all mammals?!”

I tried not to laugh, too much.

“Sure did, Fluff, but as much as I’d _love_ to hear about it,” I leaned forward, biting the base of her ear and making them both snap straight up. “We still have to talk to my godfather, we _do_ a big case to solve, after all.”

She pulled away from me and hopped down, muttering something about ‘stupid, sly foxes’ as she stomped to the door. I followed her, stopping short when she turned to glare at me.

“Just so we’re clear, _fox,_ ” she grabbed my tie, yanking me to her level. I didn’t even try to resist. “When we get back to your place, you are in _so_ much trouble.”

A blind mammal could’ve seen how hard she was blushing, how she was gnawing on her lip as her scent started to spike. I flashed a smile that’d been called ‘every girl’s weakness’, leaning in to kiss her twitching nose.

“Once we solve this thing, I’ll let you do whatever you want to me, sweetheart,” I grabbed her hips and hauled her up, putting the grin on full-blast. “As long as I get todo the same thing to you afterward.”

And just like that, her resolve broke, the cutest little whine slipping out of her as she wriggled against me. I brushed my lips against hers, biting her ear again as I set her down. She grabbed my tie, growling as she yanked me forward, crushing her mouth against mine before shoving me back. I barely caught myself, rubbing my tail as I got to my feet.

“Okay, guess my teasing went too far…”

“You’re damn right it did,” she stormed off, glowering at me over her shoulder. “Just be glad we’re in a public place right now, Slick, otherwise I’d do things you’d never thought a bunny could do, especially to a dirty, sneaky fox.”

I gulped, as turned on by the threat as I was terrified of it. I straightened myself out before catching up with her, trailing behind to keep me out of the warpath. But I couldn’t stop myself from staring at her tail as it twitched in annoyance, and I knew she was putting that extra sway in her hips on purpose. If there was one thing she’d picked up from me, it was how to give me a taste of my own medicine, and I couldn’t figure out if I hated or loved that fact more.

 _She’s getting pretty good at this, maybe too good,_ I ran a paw through my hair, grabbing the fur on the back of my neck. _I better be careful, or who knows what she might do to me…_

I bit back a growl, deciding I couldn’t wait to find out.

 _You are in for a_ lot _of surprises, little bunny…_

* * *

“Did you and Judy have a fight or something after you kicked us out of the car?”

Paul looked at me, swirling his drink around. He always did that when he was uneasy about something. We were sitting off to the side, watching the rest of the party play out. _Tate_ had had a big table set up for all the tiny guests in the middle of the room, everyone else either dancing or talking somewhere around it. Carrots and Mercy had pulled up a couple chairs to the edge, giggling away with Fru and some of her bridesmaids. The bunny hadn’t even glanced at me since she’d stormed out of the other hall.

I stared down at my own glass, sparkling cider they’d brought in for the few kids unlucky enough to get dragged along. I’d already screwed up more than once tonight, I wasn’t about to add ‘getting drunk on the job’ to that list.

“Something like that,” I muttered, then knocked back the last of it. “She was pretty ticked that I never told her who my godfather was.”

He shook his head.

“No surprise there, it took ten years for you to tell any of us that.”

I chuckled, the sound dropping off as I went back in time. I hadn’t had too much to do with the Bigs the first couple years after I’d been adopted. Sure, I’d seen them once in a while, they’d been old friends with my birth and adoptive dads, but I’d been kept in the dark on just how deep that connection went. At least, until a few months after I’d turned nine.

I’d ducked down by the steps after running out of my first Junior Ranger Scouts meeting, the rest of the troop had held me down and muzzled me. I’d ripped the damn thing off and thrown it as hard as I could, then had just sat there crying until one of _Tate’s_ cars had pulled up. Raymond had climbed out and knelt on the sidewalk, and I hadn’t thought twice about running to him when he’d held out his paws. He and Kevin had just picked Fru up from a school dance, and she hadn’t wasted any time before trying to make me feel better, as impossible as I’d thought it was at the time.

He’d been waiting for us when we’d gotten to the mansion, just a few miles from the old plantation house my family had lived in at the time. I’d tried to not tell him anything, but before I’d even realized it I’d spilled my guts to him. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, but the comforting talk he’d given me afterward hadn’t exactly been it. He’d said he’d wished I could’ve stayed stupid to how much prey actually hated us, at least until I’d been older. I hadn’t really gotten it at the time, I mean, I’d been adopted by prey, and so had my little brother, Fin.

He’d said the Constantines were a pretty rare thing, they just hadn’t cared what a mammal was, all that had mattered to them was what someone did, how they treated the animals around them. Something they’d done well in teaching me and Fin, but hadn’t quite succeeded in with Tony. I’d asked him what that meant, and he’d said some mammals were just hard-wired to hate, and there wasn’t really anything we could do about it.

In the end, he’d promised to teach me how to deal with that hatred, the distrust and anger thrown at us. I was going to learn how to protect myself and everyone else who had to deal with it. All he’d need from me was a little white lie to my parents, that I’d say I was going to scout meetings when I’d really be coming here. He had a few friends in the Ranger Scouts, and they’d make sure our little secret never got out. We’d kept that up until I’d been sent to Meadowbrook, when I’d decided to cut ties with my family completely. Once I’d gotten out, I’d moved into the Bigs’ mansion, and their way of life.

“Nick? Hey, you in there, bud?”

I blinked, shaking my head. Paul was gripping my shoulder, the look on his face telling me I’d spaced out again.

“Damn it,” my claws dug into my fingers as I tightened my grip on my glass, this was going to be one hell of a night. “I really need to find some way to stop that, before it happens at the exact wrong time and leaves one or more of us screwed.”

He looked at me again, squeezing my shoulder before pulling back.

“We’ll just have to have your back then, won’t we?”

I chuckled a bit.

“Yeah, I guess.”

We just sat there for a while, watching the room and keeping an eye out for anything that didn’t quite fit. I still hadn’t picked up on the source of that smell, and I still couldn’t tell what it was about it that set me on edge. All I did know was, if I couldn’t figure it out soon, we’d never be able to solve this case.

“There you two are…”

My ears perked as Mercy walked toward us, twisting her empty glass between her paws.

“I-I think something’s wrong with Judy,” she went on, dropping in the seat next to Paul. “One minute, she was just fine, then the next she looked like she was about to start crying. She said she was going up to the roof for a while.”

Paul and I glanced at each other, and it was hard to miss the fear that flicked through his eyes, since I knew it was in mine, too. I set my drink on the closest table, messing with my jacket as I got to my feet.

“I’ll go check on her, you guys keep an eye on things here.”

He nodded, throwing up that old salute.

“You got it, boss.”

* * *

High Water was one of the tallest buildings in Tundra Town, and the roof offered one of the best views of the district. It was basically split down the middle, the half closest to the street left open to the snow, the other half covered in panes of thick glass, tall enough for a polar bear to stand in. It was also one of the only buildings not made out of ice bricks, so they’d installed solar-powered heating vents around the edge, keeping it warm enough for an indoor garden. Carrots was sitting on one of the gliders scattered around, her caplet tossed over the back, staring at the sky with her paws in her lap and a sad look on her face.

“Never thought I’d see you run from trouble.”

She jumped, her ears falling back down when she saw it was just me. She sighed, her fists tightening on her dress, turning away when I sat next to her.

“I-I just don’t do well with crowds…”

I chuckled.

“Didn’t expect that from you, either, Miss ‘I’ve got three hundred siblings’.”

She scoffed.

“That’s different, they’re family, “ she waved a paw at the door that led back inside. “I’ve never seen most of the animals in there before, or the…”

She trailed off again. I put an arm around her, pulling her close to me.

“Never let them see that they get to you, Fluff, remember?”

She nodded, leaning into me.

“I know, that’s why I came up here,” she swiped at her eyes. “A-And I didn’t want to ruin anyone’s night with my crying.”

I hugged her more tightly.

“Hey, you’re just as important to us as they are,” I told her. “We weren’t about to let you cry in a corner by yourself.”

I rubbed her arm, watching how the lights from the city caught her eyes and fur, made her dress look darker than it really was.

“And it’s probably just because I’m half-hammered right now,” I leaned closer to her. “But I really think you look great tonight.”

She rolled her eyes.

“You told me that in the car already,” she pulled back. “ _And_ you haven’t had a drop of alcohol tonight, so don’t go trying to p—”

She cut off when I kissed her, her breath hitching as I pulled her back to me, lying against the side rail with her on top of me. She stared down at me when I ended it, her eyes heating up in a way I was starting to love. She smiled, giggling.

“I guess being alone with you isn’t _so_ bad…” she came down and kissed me, her tongue playing with mine as she messed with my shirt. Throwing my tie over my shoulder as she unbuttoned it, my fur standing on end when she ran her fingers through it. I groaned, breaking the kiss to lick her neck, feeling her tense and tremble as I got close to her chest.

“O-Oh, Nick…” she whimpered when I stopped, gasping as I nipped at her collar bone, slipping a paw under her dress to drag my claws up her leg. I kissed her again, tracing some mindless pattern in the fur on her thigh when she suddenly ended it. The heat in her eyes going cold as her ears snapped up and twitched forward, before dropping flat against her back. “Oh, uh, h-hey, Paul…”

I tilted my head back when a shadow fell over us, shrinking against the seat when Paul’s glare hit me. I gulped.

“W-What’s going on?”

He shrugged stiffly.

“Oh, nothing,” he flashed his teeth, looking pissed as he stabbed a claw toward the door he’d just run through. “Except while you two have been up here sucking face, Mercy’s been down there going savage!”

* * *

I knew Carrots was thinking the same thing I was: _please tell me this is just a bad joke, a really, really bad joke._

We stopped cold outside the reception hall, my whole body going numb when I heard what was going on inside. Animals were crying, some screaming, overlapped with crazed growling that faded into whimpers, before cutting off completely. Paul almost took the doors off the hinges when he threw them open.

I didn’t hear what he said then, I couldn’t focus on anything except the scene in front of me. Anything that could be was thrown over, curtains and tablecloths ripped to shreds, anything breakable shattered on the floor. Mercy was slumped on her side in the middle of it, her dress clawed to pieces, two darts stuck in her arm. Kevin was holding _Tate_ and Fru, his other paw still up and aiming his tranq-gun. The panic slowly died down, mammals starting to whisper to each other, the looks they sent us anything but subtle.

Carrots’ claws dug into my paw, and I looked down to see her shaking, her other paw pressed to her mouth. Her ears were flat against her back, eyes wide as she stared around.

“D-Did Mercy really do all this?”

She pulled behind me when Paul glared at her.

“Check the damn cameras if you have to see it yourself,” he growled before turning on me. “And you just _had_ to get involved in all this, didn’t you? Play ‘hero to the preds’ like you always have to, and _now_ look where it’s gotten us, asshole!”

He jumped at me, only to get shoved to the floor by Raymond.

“Attacking him won’t fix her, cat,” he said flatly. “Or do I have make Kevin tranq you, too?”

Paul snarled at him, but stopped fighting, and in a few minutes the bear let him back up. He shoved out a breath like he’d been sucker-punched, glaring at us again before storming off. He dropped to his knees next to Mercy, dragging her into his lap and burying his nose in her hair. Raymond stayed close by him, Kevin coming over to Carrots and me, still keeping hold of his gun.

“Was anyone else hurt?” I asked. Fru shook her head.

“No, Nicky, everyone’s fine,” she glanced at Paul and Mercy. “But I have no idea what happened to her, she just took a few sips from a drink someone brought her, then—”

“Wait, what?!” I turned on her, backing off when she cowered. “Sorry, but do you have any idea who bought it for her? What kind of animal were they?”

She shook her head again.

“Whoever they were, we didn’t see them, one of the waiters just came up and said they had a special drink for her.”

My tail flicked as I looked at Carrots, and I knew we were thinking the exact same thing.

“Take Fru and see if you can track down that waiter,” I told her. “We’ve got to find out who this guy is, and fast!”

She nodded, barely letting Fru walk into her paws before taking off. I turned to _Tate,_ sitting in his tiny leather chair like always.

“My private doctor will be here soon,” he said. “He and Paul will bring Mercy to the hospital, you and I have our own matters to discuss.”

I nodded, glancing back toward Raymond. He kept close to Paul, but I could see him tracking Carrots; hopefully he and the rest of the crew would be able to keep things under control. I followed Kevin to the hallway, and I knew whatever _Tate_ had found out was even bigger than I’d hoped it would be. I swallowed, my tail starting to twitch as I tried to focus on what he was about to tell me.

“As I promised, I looked in to this new drug on the streets, but sadly I was unable to find out much more than you have already discovered for yourselves.”

“Oh,” my ears fell back, my tail going still. “Well, t-thanks anyway, sir, I-I’m sure we’ll—”

“However,” he held up a paw to stop me. “I was able to find and trace the latest batch to come into the city, and I’m afraid the situation may be even worse than we thought.”

He paused to breathe, and it was the first time I noticed that it rasped a bit, that I realized just how old he was.

“This particular batch,” he went on after a minute. “It originated in Bunnyburrow.”

* * *

“B-B-Bunnyburrow?”

Carrots was shell-shocked. Kevin had taken us to Eastwood General, where we were forced to see all the savage victims at once. There’d been eight more cases since we’d figured out a drug was causing all this, and in my opinion, that had been eight too many.

“Yeah, or it was the furthest he could track it,” my shoulders slumped. “Even with his network, not to mention more than half the ZPD, it was almost impossible to trace. It just proves that whoever’s behind this _really_ knows what they’re doing.”

She nodded, then glanced around, rubbing her arm.

“S-Some of the guests are still in the waiting room downstairs,” her voice was low, tight. “I-I should go talk to them, see if anyone saw something that might help.”

“Good idea,” I took her shoulder, kissing the top of her head. “I’ll join you in a bit, okay?”

She nodded again, looking at me with wet eyes before heading for the elevators. It felt like my gut had been filled with rocks when I turned to Paul, staring blankly into Mercy’s room, his forehead pressed to the window. According to the Bigs’ doctor, a lemur who’d patched me up about as much as Doc Muskrat, he hadn’t moved since they’d brought her in. She was still under the effect of Kevin’s tranqs, but she’d been strapped paw and foot toher bed, just in case they wore off sooner than the lab coats thought.

“We’ll have to go to Bunnyburrow,” I barely noticed I’d said it out loud. I shoved my paws in my pockets, my claws digging in as my fists tightened. “Hopefully we’ll finally be able to put an end to all this.”

I turned away, I couldn’t stand to look at them anymore, stopping when I realized Paul still hadn’t moved.

“Hey, you coming?”

He was quiet for so long I thought he hadn’t heard me. I headed back toward him, stopping when he finally spoke

“No, I can’t leave Mercy,” his face was blank when he finally turned to me, his voice flat, his stare one of the coldest I’d ever seen. “And I can’t really look at you right now.”

I started to reach for his shoulder, clenching my paw again as I forced it back to my side.

“We’ll find who’s behind this,” I told him. “And we’ll find a cure, I promise.”

He just scoffed, already watching the window again.

“You fucking better,” he barely glanced at me, and I couldn’t miss the rage that boiled up in his eyes. “Or Mercy and Trevor won’t be the only ones going savage, and I won’t even need some drug to do it.”

I gulped, my tail darting between my legs. I’d seen him ticked off or annoyed before, but he’d never looked at anyone like that before, like he was ready to kill them with his own paws. I just nodded, backing up with my ears flat against my head, then hightailed it to the waiting room, where Carrots was doing her best to get anything out of the mammals who’d seen Mercy go savage. Not surprisingly, most of them weren’t much help, they were either still too freaked out, or they just hated prey, no matter who they were or how much they were trying to help.

“I don’t have anything to say to you,” a cheetah snapped at her. The cub in her lap was starting to fuss, reaching for Carrots’ ears, shaking from how hard she was trying to keep them perked.

“Please, ma’am,” her voice was steady, but it was obvious how much she’d practiced keeping that tone. “I’m an officer with the ZPD, and my associates and I are doing everything we can to find the mammals behind this and bring them to justice, if you could just tell me if you—”

“I already said I didn’t,” the cheetah glowered at her. “Now leave me alone, or I’m going to have the hospital staff call security and get you thrown out on the street where you belong!”

She got up and stormed away, smacking Judy in the face with her tail hard enough to knock her over. It took her a few seconds to get back up, snatching her notepad and that weird carrot pen, dusting herself off like nothing had happened. But I could see how much she was shaking, and she wasn’t even trying to keep her ears up anymore. She threw up a smile when she saw me, skipping over to where I’d stopped dead.

“I don’t think we’ll be getting much more tonight,” her tone was too cheerful. “Everyone’s still in shock, but I gave a few of them my card, so hopefully in the morning they’ll…”

She trailed off, but kept smiling as she walked quickly past me, waving to the nurse at the front desk as we headed outside. Her whole charade only lasted until we were back in the car Kevin had brought us in, and he didn’t bother to ask before pulling out of the lot.

As soon as Eastwood was out of sight, Carrots threw herself at me, sobbing into my chest like she’d never stop.

“Oh, N-Nick,” she she gasped, choking on her tears. “I-I can’t take it anymore! N-No matter what I do, I-I just can’t—!”

She broke down again, still going when we reached my place. I picked her up and carried her inside, throwing up a paw at Kevin before shutting the door. I sat with her on the couch, just holding her while she kept letting it out.

* * *

  _“Didn’t that sign only say thirty million last time we were?”Dad asked. I climbed on the rail and looked out, seeing a big yellow sign with bunny ears and a lot of numbers. Tony was staring at it, too, like he’d done to me after I’d told Mom who’d kicked over her flower pot._

_“I’m surprised it’s not even higher,” he said. “All bunnies do is grow carrots and fuck.”_

_“Tony!” Mom glared at him. He rolled his eyes._

_“What? It’s true!”_

_He turned up his walkman until we could all hear it, staring out the window and crossing his arms. He got like that whenever we went on long trips, Mom called it ‘stir-crazy’. She shook her head and smiled at Dad, who was holding Fin. He was asleep, like he’d been most of the train ride. I sat on the rail and looked at Mom._

_“Why do Grandma and Grandpa live in Bunnyburrow?” I asked that every time we came, but no one ever gave me a real answer. I was almost ten, and they still treated me like a baby. She and Dad looked at each other, that look all grown-ups got when they were coming up with some kind of lie._

_“They just enjoy the quiet out here, son,” Dad told me. But I could tell he didn’t believe it._

_“It’s quiet at our house, too,” I crossed my arms like Tony always did. “And we live a lot closer to the city than they do!”_

_They just looked at each other again, then Dad walked to the other side of the observation deck when Fin started waking up. Mom watched them for a while before looking at me, but I didn’t give her a chance to talk this time._

_“You know what, just forget it,” I jumped off the rail and sat on the floor. “I’ll just ask Grandpa when we get there. At least_ he _never lies to me.”_

It had taken a few more years to figure out they’d all been lying to me, and even longer to realize it would’ve been better if I’d just let them keep doing it. But instead I’d kept going after them, listening in on conversations when I was supposed to be asleep or outside, sneaking into my dad’s and grandpa’s offices to try and find whatever they were hiding for myself. And once I finally did, I’d never been able to look any of them in the eye again, not without demanding why they’d done all of that, and why they’d made things even worse by lying about it.

It got bad enough that I’d ended up doing shitty in school, and I’d gotten in so many fights I’d had to get my collar put in early, or I would’ve been expelled and locked up in juvie. I’d flunked out of eighth grade and had broken just about every bone in my body at least once when things had gotten even worse, and after that I’d been shipped off to Meadowbrook. But my breakdown was only one of the reasons, the rest was because they’d finally figured out what Tony had been doing to me. I’d never bothered to learn what’d happened to him, and by the time I’d gotten out, he’d already vanished, and there hadn’t been any sign of him since.

I still had no idea what had caused his wires to cross, and I hoped that, wherever he was, the only one he’d be able to hurt was himself.

I shut off the water and knocked my forehead against the wall. Mercy had been savage for almost two days now, and it was all my fault. I couldn’t just let the cops handle this case like I should have, I had to care about my fans as much as I did and put all our tails on the line to find out why this was happening.

 _Starting to wish I really was cold and selfish as the press loves saying._ Even if I hadn’t tricked Carrots into letting me in on this thing, Mercy probably still would’ve been targeted. After all, Trevor had been hit before we’d even gotten involved.

 _You’ve come too far to back out now,_ I stepped out of the shower and grabbed my towel, taking my time drying off. _Only thing to do now is finish it._

_“And I won’t even need some drug to do it.”_

I shuddered. I could still feel Paul’s stare on me, the flat way he’d talked freaking me out more than if he’d screamed it at me. I didn’t know if he’d been in shock or what, but just wanting to see him like that again would’ve been enough to keep me on this. The fact there were over twenty other families waiting for a cure was just extra incentive.

I tossed the towel on the counter and pulled on my sweats, wincing as I stuffed my tail through the hole in the back. One of the bigger animals at the wedding had “accidentally” stomped on it just before Carrots and I had left for Eastwood. She and Fru hadn’t found any sign of the waiter who’d brought Mercy that drink, or even the mammal who’d bought it for her in the first place. It didn’t take a genius to figure out whoever it’d been was involved with the monster behind all this, or that they were far from done. Four more preds had gone savage since I’d last checked, two of them just high-schoolers, and again they’d all listened to _Savage Wilde._

 _I’ve dealt with crazy fans before,_ I grabbed the towel again and walked out, tilting my ears back as I started drying them. _But this is just freaking insane!_

I stopped at the kitchen door, hearing Carrots on the other side. She’d been Muzzletiming her parents for over an hour now.

“I wish I could say this was just a social visit,” she sounded like she’d tried saying it ten times already. “But I’m following a lead for a case, so I will be working most of the time I’m there.”

I stuck to the edge of the room when I went in. She was sitting on the back of the couch in the living room, staring at her phone. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she hadn’t mentioned me, it was clear she didn’t have the patience for any of the questions it would’ve brought up.

 _“How long are you going to stay?”_ her mom asked. _“You know, the Harvest Fair’s coming up, and I know a nice buck who’d love to go with—”_

“Mom,” she cut her off. “I’ve told you a hundred times I don’t have any interest in the bucks you and everyone else keep trying to set me up with, _especially_ after what happened last time.”

There was a long, awkward pause, then her mom gasped.

 _“Sweet cheese and crackers, is it really that late? I still have to wash the dishes from dinner and put together lunches for tomorrow,”_ she sounded like she didn’t believe it any more than we did. _“We’ll see you in a few days, sweetheart, good night!”_

She hung up. Carrots groaned and slumped forward, her ears falling over her face.

“I love them and all, but they can be _so_ overbearing!”she pulled herself up and turned to look at me. “Did you know they actually tried to make me take a fox tazer and repellent when I came here? I took the repellent just to calm them down, then as soon as the train started rolling, I chucked it.”

She threw her legs over the back and jumped down, tapping at her phone before shoving it in her pocket.

“And then just tonight they told me they work with the fox who bullied me when I was a kid,” she started toward me. “Gideon’s a baker now, apparently one of the best in the Tri-Burrows.”

She stopped and let her head drop to my stomach. She didn’t even seem to notice she was still rambling.

“I mean, it’s not like I care, that whole thing ended fifteen years ago, and we sort of made up just before I left. I mean, he explained why he acted like that and apologized and everything, but I really didn’t care about it by then, and I just—”

I pulled back, dropping my towel on her head.

“I’m just going to say that you talk _way_ too freaking much sometimes,” I smirked at her when she yanked it off. “And don’t try giving me that ‘pissed-off’ look of yours, you know I can’t take it seriously.”

She growled, threw the towel down and moved to slug me. I caught her fist, chuckling as I leaned closer to her.

“And you know you’d never beat me in a fight unless I let you,” I caught her other paw, then kissed her nose. “But I will say you look pretty hot when you’re gearing up for one.”

She stopped cold, her ears dropping behind her head, but not before I saw how dark they’d gotten. I laughed again, pulling her closer and trapping her in my arms. She grabbed my fur and buried her face in my chest, and I finally realized how much she was shaking.

“You that nervous about heading home?” I asked. She shook her head.

“It’s not that,” she swallowed. “I-It’s just…I don’t even know…”

She looked up at me, and there was something in her eyes I couldn’t quite place. Whatever it was, it flashed out when she blinked.

“They used to have some pretty strong ideas about foxes,” she went on. “Them working with Gideon is one thing, but I have no idea how they’ll react when they find out I’m…”

She’d been dragging herself up as she talked, and I bent down to meet her. She whined when I pulled away, and as adorable as it was, I wasn’t about to fall for it, not this time.

“Sounds like we’ll have some stuff to talk about when we get there,” I hooked my paws under her and swept her up. “But no matter what comes up, remember the case is our first priority. We have to at least find a cure before even more preds are drugged.”

She nodded, tracing a claw along my snout.

“I know that, Nick, really I do, it’s just…” that emotion I couldn’t place was back in her eyes, and this time it didn’t go away. She sighed. “I just don’t want them to treat you badly, it scares me enough that I don’t even want to risk it, so I think it’d be best if I went alone.”

I shook my head.

“No can do, Carrots, I’m not letting you do this by yourself,” I took a breath. It was way past time I told her. “And after your close call with that sniper, Buffalo Butt kind of ordered me to be your bodyguard, and I’ve been doing a crappy job of it so far. I’m not about to let you leave the city without me.”

I brought her down and kissed her, cutting off her protests before they could start.

“And I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to you, especially after everything else that’s gone down,” I smirked at her. “So as much as I hate to say it, you’re stuck with me, sweetheart.”

She giggled, then hugged me.

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”


	10. Chapter 10

We spent most of the next morning at the precinct, filling Bogo in on what had really happened at Fru’s wedding, instead of whatever shit those other mammals likely shit out. We’d also told him about the lead we’d picked up, and he’d reacted just like I’d thought he would. Slamming his hooves on the desk, jumping to his feet to loom over it.

“You mean to tell me you’re taking one of my best officers out of the city on the word of a _criminal_?!”

I nodded.

“Mr. Big might be a criminal, but he cares about the city just as much as you do, _and_ he’s the biggest reason I’m not dead right now. I’ve known him my whole life, and I trust him with it,” I sat back in the huge chair I shared with Carrots, crossing my arms. “He also hates drugs more than almost anything, so he does whatever he can to keep them out of the city, he wouldn’t lie about this.”

I already knew Buffalo Butt didn’t like me, and I could see his opinion dropping by the second, but he also knew I was the biggest reason we’d gotten this far. So he didn’t really have a leg to stand on if he wanted to fight with us. He rubbed his eyes as he sat down, then shoved out a sigh.

“ _Fine,_ I will give you seventy-two hours, and if you crack this lead by then, I’ll fast track the paperwork for your PI license, but if you _don’t,_ ” he focused on me, and it was all I could do to keep from shaking. No wonder everyone respected this guy. “You are going to walk away from this case, and let my officers do the job they were _trained_ to do, and you can forget having _anything_ to do with law enforcement on this or _any_ city. Understand?”

Carrots gasped, but I held up a paw to keep her from talking, never breaking eye contact with the Chief.

“Deal,” I didn’t give myself time to think twice, to start doubting things. “But you can’t count the time it takes to get there or back against us.”

He glared at me, then rolled his eyes.

“Fine, I’ll give you that, _if_ you head out as soon as we’re done here,” he glanced at Carrots. “I’m going to count on you to keep me updated, Hopps, and to keep this damned fox in line.”

She threw up a crisp salute.

“Yes, sir!”

He nodded.

“Good, now stop wasting time and get out of my office!”

* * *

“Well, that looks like the last of it.”

Carrots shut the trunk, hopped on top of it and dropped into the passenger seat.

“Careful!” I smoothed my paws over the wheel. “This thing’s a classic!”

She giggled.

“Better hope my younger siblings don’t see it, then,” she tapped the screen on the dash and pulled up the GPS. “You’d be lucky if it was only in two or three pieces afterward.”

She keyed in her parents’ address and grabbed my iPod from the cupholder, scrolling through it while I started the car.

“You’re a Purlock Holmes fan?”

I glanced at the screen while we waited for the gate to open, I’d forgotten I’d even put the audiobook on there.

“Kind of,” I smiled a bit. “My dad would read the stories if he was having trouble with a case, he said it helped him think about everything differently, made him find connections where he usually wouldn’t have looked twice.”

I shrugged.

“So I figured, if it worked for him, why not us?”

I focused on the road as she hooked it up to the bluetooth, getting as close as she could to me as the intro started playing. She let out a little purr when she rubbed her head against my arm.

“What’s your favorite story?” she peeked up at me. “Mine’s ‘The Speckled Band’.”

“Hmm,” I put that arm around her, scratching the base of her ear. I could barely remember the last time I’d read or listened to any of them.

“I guess it’d have to be ‘The Empty House’,” I finally said. “It was pretty cool how they were able to fool that shooter.”

“And how he was able to survive that fall,” she pulled away when I hit the gas. “I really wish he were here now…”

“Yeah, then this thing probably would’ve been over the day it started.”

_“In the year 1878, I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London…”_

“Hey, Nick?”

I kept my eyes on the road, but flicked an ear toward her. The GPS was taking us to one of the old highways that spiderwebbed out of the city, the one my parents had taken the few times we’re driven to Bunnyburrow instead of taking the train.

“I know that tone,” I took my shades from my collar and slipped them on. “You’re worried we won’t be able to do this in time.”

I caught her nod from the corner of my eye.

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about,” she started, messing with her paws. “I mean, it took us three months just to get this far, and now we only have three _days_ to find the source of this drug _and_ how it’s getting into the city!”

I stopped at a red light, one of the last we’d see before hitting the tri-burrows. I glanced at her.

“He didn’t really say anything about finding out how they’ve been transporting it, we just have to find where they’re making it,” I smirked a bit. “And if Bunnyburrow’s as boring as I remember, then it shouldn’t be too hard.”

She looked at me.

“You’ve been there before?”

I took off when the light changed.

“My grandparents lived out there,” I pushed my hair from my face. “We visited a few times when I was a kid, even stopped by your parents’ produce stand.”

“How come I never saw you?” she grabbed my iPod and hit pause. I shrugged.

“We stopped going when I was twelve, that was when Fin…” I trailed off. Getting worked up behind the wheel of a car wasn’t exactly a good idea. She brushed a paw down my arm.

“I’ve been curious about something,” she tried to smile, and I silently thanked her for changing the subject. “How old are you, actually? It’s pretty much the only thing the paparazzi _hasn’t_ managed to verify about you, yet.”

I laughed, I’d always thought it was funny how much mammals cared about stuff like that, like it really made any difference.

“I’ll be thirty-two in January,” I glanced at the screen to see if a turn was coming up, then sidelong at her. “What about you?”

She shrugged.

“You were right when you guessed I was twenty-four,” she said. “My birthday’s in April.”

We just kind of went silent after that; she grabbed my iPod and hit play again.

_“As we made our way to the hospital after leaving the Holborn, Stamford gave…”_

I stopped listening, hitting the button to bring up the top when it started raining. She wasn’t the only one worried about just how the hell we were going to pull this off. But after everything else we’d managed to do so far, I’d be more surprised if we didn’t end up beating the time crunch. Our “seventy-two hours” didn’t start until we told Buffalo Butt we were there, and that left about half the morning and the whole afternoon, along with whatever crazy night hours Carrots made us pull. But even if we didn’t sleep again until we were back in the city, if it meant breaking this thing wide open, it’d be more than worth it.

“Wait, how are we almost there already?” she pulled me back to reality. “We just started!”

I laughed.

“I’ve had the cruise set to ninety for the last hour, Fluff,” I turned it off when we started passing farms. “And we’d already wasted about thirty minutes before that.”

“Oh,” she pulled out her phone and tapped out a few texts. “I just told my parents we’ll be there soon, and to make sure as few of my siblings are around as possible, or we’ll never get anywhere.”

We hit her family’s farm before much longer, and the only ones waiting for us were her parents and one of her brothers. I smirked when their jaws dropped as I pulled up, Carrots jumping out before I’d even turned the car off.

“Mom, Dad!” she jumped on the porch and hugged them. “Oh, I’ve missed you guys so much!”

“We’ve missed you too, sweetheart,” her mom smiled, then looked toward me. “Oh, and who’s your fri—wait, is that you, Nicolas?”

I chuckled.

“Yep, it’s me, Mrs. Hopps.”

“Well, I’ll be,” her dad pulled out of the hug and walked over to me. “You’ve shot up two feet since I last saw you, son!”

I laughed.

“It’s only been about twenty years since then,” I shook his paw. “It’s great seeing you guys again!”

I looked over his ears at Carrots, still talking excitedly to her mom. She smiled when she noticed me, her ears getting darker. Then she turned to her brother, and her face lit up even more.

“Oh, Nick!” she grabbed the guy’s paw and dragged him over. I crossed my arms, trying not to lose it at the shocked look on his striped face. “You’ve got to meet my brother, Jack!”

I chuckled again, stuffing my paws in my pockets.

“Oh, we’ve already met, Fluff,” I said. “More than once by this point.”

I held out a paw.

“You know how long it took us to find a decent bass player after you split, Savage?”

“Wait,” she stepped back, staring back and forth between us. “What?!”

* * *

“My _brother_ was in my favorite band?!” Carrots still couldn’t get past it. Her parents had already gone back inside, the three of us still standing in the yard by my car. “How did I never know about it?!”

Savage groaned.

“Because I didn’t want anyone around here to know,” he told her. “As open-minded as you’ve always been, Jude, I wasn’t sure how you’d react if you found out I was always hanging with a bunch of preds.”

She shook her head.

“I’ve been working with them for months, Jack, ever since Trevor went savage. Paul and Mercy are some of my best friends now, and Nick is…” she trailed off, looking up at me. It was the first time I’d realized we’d never said what we were. Her ears went pink when she turned back to him. “Even closer than that. You know I’ve loved him since high school, and now he loves me, too.”

I felt my face heat up as she talked, and it was hard to keep my tail from going crazy. He stared at her as she walked toward me, his mouth dropping open when she jumped in my arms and kissed me. I felt guilty for ending it as soon as I did, but making out in front of her brother and possibly getting my ass kicked wasn’t really on my bucket list. And from the look Savage gave me when I put her down, he was close to doing just that. He slapped a paw over his eyes, dragging it down his face

“Well, since _that_ came completely out of left field, you won’t mind me saying I need some time to process it,” he rubbed the back of his neck, then glanced at the sky. “And we better get inside, anyway, it looks like it’s about to start pouring out here.”

It had stopped drizzling while we were on the road, but the clouds had just kept getting thicker, and now thunder and lightning were starting to go off over our heads. Carrots and I grabbed our crap from my car and followed him inside, he was walking like he had a pole shoved up his ass.

“I’ll see you guys later,” his voice was just as stiff, and he took off around the next corner. I hooked my backpack over my shoulder, trying not to stare at Carrots’ tail as I followed her to what was probably one of a hundred living rooms, where her parents were waiting for us.

Usually, I could read mammals, no problem, it was part of how I’d survived so long on the streets, but Mrs. Hopps was one of the few exceptions.

“So, Nicolas,” she was disappointed. “Would you mind telling us why you just disappeared without a word?”

“And how you know my parents _and_ brother?” Carrots looked up at me. I glanced between them, then turned to her dad, who just shrugged and shoved his paws in his pockets. I sighed, my backpack falling to the floor as my shoulders slumped.

“I still can’t go into detail about it, but I found out something huge about my adoptive family,” my ears dropped. “After that, knowing what really happened, I just couldn’t face them anymore, or anyone. I cut myself off from everyone, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to apologize enough for hurting you both like that.”

I looked at Carrots, and managed to smile a bit.

“As for Savage, well, he came to us. Trevor, Mercy and I were looking for a bass player,” I chuckled. “We’d gone through pretty much every one in the city, and right as we were packing it in, your brother showed up, said he’d just moved to town and was looking for some extra cash. It was the first time any of us had seen a guitar that small, but damn, did he know how to play it.”

I shook my head.

“We asked him to join right then and there, but he said we’d have to keep him off any merch that ended up having our faces plastered on it. Trevor’s the one who came up with the name, though,” I shrugged. “But then a few years ago, out of nowhere he said he couldn’t do it anymore, and the next day, he was gone.”

I crossed my arms, my tail starting to flick.

“To this day, we have no idea why,” that was a total lie. “We’d never even known he was thinking about quitting.”

She watched me a minute before turning to her parents, they looked just as lost as she did. Her dad cleared his throat.

“Well, now that that’s out of the way, how’s the big city, Jude?”

She shrugged.

“This case has kept me pretty busy since o got there, so I haven’t really had time to experience it,” she wrapped her arms around mine and leaned against me. “Nick, Paul and Mercy have all made me feel so welcome, and so has almost everyone one the force, but…”

She trailed off, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what she was leading up to. I took my arm from her grip and wrapped it around her. She smiled at me before swallowing, turning back to her parents.

“Something pretty… _big_ happened, and because of it, Chief Bogo only have us a few days to find the source of the drug that’s being used to target predators in the city, and I have no idea how we’ll be able to do that,” she shook her head, her ears dropping to her back. “But we’re still going to do everything we can, there’s too much at stake for us to just give up!”

Her parents glanced at each other, then her dad cleared his throat again.

“A-And when you say ‘a few’, how many do you mean?”

Carrots messed with her shirt.

“Three.”

I was sure if he’d had a drink, we would’ve seen a spit-take, if his dropped-jaw stare was anything to go by.

“T-Three?!”

“Oh, sweetheart,” her mom looked at us. “That’s not long at all, what does he think you can do in that short of a time?”

Carrots played with her shirt again, smiling nervously.

“Well, our time doesn’t actually start until the Chief knows we’re here,” she crossed her arms and looked up at me. “And if I’d noticed Nick was speeding most of the way, we’d still be on the road.”

She waved a paw in the air when her dad started talking again.

“And as much as we’d love to keep catching up, we really need to get started, I want to get as much as can done before everyone else gets home.”

She grabbed my paw before they could say anything; I barely had time to grab my pack before she dragged me out of the room, and by the third or forth turn I was completely lost. It was my first time in a bunny warren, and the never-ending, barely-tall-enough-for-me hallways all looked exactly the same: faded yellow wallpaper, light wood doors rounded off like the ceiling lining both sides, every one of them closed.

“My mom’s had a few more litters since I left,” she stopped and pushed a door open, one of the only ones that didn’t have some number of names on it. It was taller than the rest we’d passed, the room inside pretty much what I’d expected: the same gray stone floor as the rest of this level, small, round windows facing east so the sunrise would wake up whoever was snoozing in the beds under them. I dropped my pack next to one and took a load off, Carrots setting hers on the desk shoved against the wall, her tail twitching as she dug through it.

“I’m going into town to ask if anything strange has happened lately,” she pulled out the Zip-Loc she’d put all her cop stuff in. “Mammals coming or going in the middle of the night, shipments of stuff that’s not really needed around here…”

She hooked her badge to her belt and stuck her notepad in her pocket, tapping her cheek with her carrot pen as she turned to me.

“And I know you said you couldn’t leave my side, but I really think it’d be best if you stayed here, at least for now,” she walked toward me, her hips swaying more than usual as that hot glint flashed in her eyes. “The bunnies and other prey around here are used to foxes because of Gideon and his family, but I don’t think any of them are as _big_ and _scary_ as you are…”

She put her paws on my chest, bumping my nose with hers before biting my lip. She started kissing me, in that slow, longing way that would drive anyone crazy. I groaned, holding her for a minute before grabbing her shoulders and pulling her back.

“I’m not sure if you’re trying to coerce me or what, but you are getting _way_ too damn good at that,” I put a paw on her cheek. “I’m only saying yes because you know this town way better than I do, and because I know you can take care of yourself.”

I kissed her again.

“I’ll let Buffalo Butt know we’re here,” I took my phone from my pocket. “I don’t really want to know what would happen if he called us to ask what was taking so long.”

She laughed, straightening herself out in the mirror hanging on the door before pulling it open.

“I should be back in a couple hours,” she looked over her shoulder. “Why don’t you get things set up in here, then we can go over anything we find when I get back?”

I smirked, throwing up that salute.

“You’re the boss, sweetheart.”

* * *

My talk with the Chief was even shorter than I’d thought it would be, I’d barely finished saying “Hey, we’re in Bunnyburrow” before he’d grunted something and cut the call off. I tossed my phone on the bed and dug my laptop out of my pack. We’d been given access to High Water’s security feeds, and I figured having to sit through it all would be worth it if I caught a lead. I hit last Friday, fast-forwarded through most of the morning, then let it play once they started setting up for Fru’s wedding. All the mammals I’d expected to see were there: decorators, florists, the panther planner running around yelling at everyone. It didn’t take long to realize I wouldn’t find anything useful, so I switched to the room the reception had been in, fast-forwarding to about a half-hour before Mercy went savage.

Again, it was everything I’d expected: animals standing around talking, some couples and kids dancing, then out of nowhere complete freaking chaos. Mercy had been sitting by the table in the middle of the room, laughing as she talked to a brown and white dot, then another white wolf in a waiter’s get-up came over and gave her the drink. There wasn’t any sound, and the picture was grainy, but it was hard to miss how Mercy hesitated, glancing back at Fru before taking it. A few minutes after drinking it, she was writhing on the floor; I could imagine her growling and snarling as she tore at her dress, the howl when she got up on all fours. It didn’t take her long to pick her first target: the cheetah cub Carrots and I had seen with her mom at Eastwood.

I forced myself to keep watching, as Kevin bowled into Mercy and grabbed the cub, drawing back as she shook herself off, barely fazed. She jumped again, ripping apart anything that got in her way; most of the animals in the room had flattened themselves against the walls, staying out of her way. Kevin tossed the cub to the first one he saw when Mercy focused on the center table, full of trapped, panicking shrews. His first shot missed, and she turned on him, and it was all he could do to stay out of her reach. She still managed to sink her teeth in a few times, and it felt like hours before she finally tired out enough for him to take another shot. I stopped it then, I’d relieved what’d happened next every night since.

_But I didn’t see what happened to the drink…_

I rewound, focusing on the waiter. There didn’t seem to be anything weird about him, he just walked around with a tray, offering drinks or whatever was on it like all the others. He stopped on his way to the kitchen, turning toward whoever must’ve called him. But they hadn’t been in view of the camera, and I couldn’t even be sure if they were actually related.

I pulled up an email Carrots had forwarded to me, photos of everyone who’d been there that night. I sat through the feeds again, matching faces, trying to find anyone who didn’t belong. But everyone matched up, and except for some of the younger kids, no one talked to any of the waiters long enough to get the whole plan across. That meant whoever had been responsible for drugging Mercy either hadn’t been there, or they’d arranged it ahead of time. But what if they had been there, and had been familiar enough with High Water’s layout to stay off the cameras completely? Any of those would’ve explained why no one had noticed anything strange, as the least the ones who’d “lowered” themselves enough to talk to Judy. I growled, shut down my laptop and slammed it shut.

_Damn it, I just wasted four hours for nothing!_

I dropped it on my bed; I’d spent more than half that time pacing around, trying to get rid of some nervous energy. I grabbed my phone, telling Carrots the feeds had been a dead end, at least for me.

_Please tell me youve got something’_

I didn’t expect her to get back to me. I was pretty sure that sign we’d always passed on the train was a joke, but there were still a lot of mammals for her to talk to, if she ever managed to get away from the first one. She’d told me herself rabbits were some of the chattiest animals out there.

_I’m surprised they can get_ anything _done sometimes,_ I fell back on the bed and looked at my claws. _With that and all the kids they have._

I looked at the clock by the desk, groaning when it went out of focus. I’d slept even less than usual since Mercy had gone savage, and it was starting to catch up with me. I drifted off, telling myself it was only for a couple hours, then it was back to work. Maybe I’d missed something in those feeds, or the few witness statements Carrots had managed to get, anything so this wasn’t a complete waste of…

* * *

“Nick!” I woke up to Carrots giggling as she shook me. “Nick, wake up, sleepyhead!”

I groaned, hiding a smirk as I rolled away from her, keeping my eyes shut.

“Nick, come on!” she huffed, shaking me harder. “I know you’re awake, so stop messing around!”

It was getting hard not to laugh, but I kept it up until she shoved me off the bed. I caught myself on my paws, rolling so I faced her; I crouched on all fours, my tail wagging as I growled, hearing her shriek as I jumped at her. She scrambled to the other bed, laughing when I face planted the pillow she’d been sitting on.

“You’ll have to try harder than that, Slick!” she laughed again, the first real happiness I’d seen from her in days. But she spent a second too long congratulating herself; I jumped over and grabbed her paws, pinning her under me. I smirked down at her, loving the shocked look on her face.

“And you shouldn’t brag until you know you’ve won, sweetheart,” I nuzzled her cheek, my nose trailing under her chin, feeling her tense and shiver when I dragged my tongue through her fur. She whimpered when I pulled away, the sound turning into a moan when I kissed her. I let go of her paws to wrap my arms around her, hauling her up and holding her tightly. She pushed back from me, panting, her ears so red I was surprised steam wasn’t coming off them.

“N-Nick, I…” she whined before throwing herself at me; I held her against the wall, her claws digging into my skin as my tongue tangled with hers. I couldn’t care about anything else when I held her like this; this beautiful, badass little bunny that had my heart in the palm of her paw. And even if she did everything she could to break it, I knew I’d still be completely under her spell.

“God, I love you, Judy,” I ran my nose through her fur, her scent thick, even sweeter than usual. “I love you so much!”

“O-Oh, Nick,” she gasped when I scraped my teeth across her shoulder. “I love you, too!”

That sent me over the edge. I threw her on the closest bed, growling as I jumped on her. But I’d barely started to take her clothes off when she grabbed my wrists, panting as hard as I was as she stared up at me, her eyes burning.

“I-I love you, Nick,” she whispered, my name hitching like she was about to start crying. “A-And I want you, more than _anything,_ but…”

“I know,” I kissed her again, groaning as I pulled back from her; I crossed my arms, not bothering to hide my raging hard-n. “But we’ve got work to do, and that comes first.”

I put on the most evil smile I could when I held her down again, using the tone that made any girl who heard it completely soaked.

“But know this, little bunny,” I kept my voice low, licking the rim of her ear. “When we’re done here, you are going to get the fucking of a lifetime.”

She giggled, licking her lips as she ground her hips against me. Her eyes locked with mine, her voice the hottest I’d ever heard it.”

“And I hope there won’t be any escape.”

* * *

“So, you want to tell me where… _that_ came from?”

I looked at Carrots, smiling when I saw her paw clasped tightly in mine. She shrugged, tugging my arm when I slowed down.

“Part of it was stress relief,” she glanced to the side, her ears bright red as they dropped to her back. “And the rest is because I’m kind of, well…”

She trailed off, still not looking at me. I stared at her a second before it dawned on me.

“Oh, you mean you’re…” it was my turn to get flustered. I stared ahead, rubbing the back of my neck. But then I smirked, leaning down until my nose brushed the side of her head. “So is that why you’ve had ‘fuck me’ scent following you around the last week?”

She froze, glaring up at me. Her scent had gotten thicker, having the same effect on me as it had in our room. I bit my tongue to keep from groaning out loud, my claws digging into her paw as hers dug into mine.

“I am _really_ wishing you hadn’t stopped me,” I muttered. She sighed.

“You and me both, but we’re late enough for dinner as it is,” she winced a bit. “If we’d stayed in there any longer, Mom would’ve sent some of my siblings after us, and a locked door wouldn’t have kept them out long.”

I shuddered.

“And that is _not_ something I want to…” I stopped, staring at her. “Wait, _dinner_? How long was I out for?”

She shook her head.

“It’s six-thirty, and if looking through those feeds took you as long as I think it did, and then it took about thirty minutes to finish all… _that_ afterward, I’d say about three hours,”she smiled at me. “Did I ever tell you how adorable you are when you sleep? I never noticed you curled up like that!”

I rolled my eyes.

“It’s a fox thing,” I stuffed my free paw in my pocket. “At least, every one I know sleeps like that.”

She just hummed, then grabbed my sleeve, pointing ahead.

“Ooh, there’s Jack and his friend, Tommy,” she whispered excitedly, then giggled. “Let’s mess with them!”

She let go of my paw and wrapped her arms around mine, walking so close I almost tripped over her feet.

“I don’t know about you, baby,” she said loudly, snickering when their ears swiveled toward us. “But I don’t think I’ll ever get over how _delicious_ you are!”

They jerked to a stop, staring wide-eyed at us. It took a few seconds for them to pick their jaws up, and they snapped back around, sprinting ahead. Carrots and I looked at each other, then burst out laughing; she fell against me, not even trying to keep the volume down.

“That probably won’t make him accept us any time soon,” I was still chuckling. “But damn if it wasn’t worth seeing that look on his face!”

I cracked up again, the sound getting stuck in my throat when she grabbed my shirt and kissed me, her tongue barely grazing mine before she ended it. Her eyes burned again when she looked up at me.

“Did I tell you I never cared what my brothers and sisters thought about me?” she asked. I leaned down until my nose touched hers.

“Not surprised,” I said quietly. “You sneaky little bunny.”

She smiled, nuzzling into my chest as she hugged me.

“You big tasty fox.”

* * *

Dinner at the Hopps house wasn’t half as crazy as I’d thought it would be. Carrots’ mom had had six litters since she’d moved out, bringing her sibling count to a neat 320. A lot of the older kids were married by now, too, several dealing with one or two dozen kids of their own. All that combined was a shit-ton of bunnies, and what should’ve been a shit-ton of chaos to match, but it was almost creepy how silent the whole thing was. Rabbits lined up in front of mile-long tables covered in food that had probably taken a week to cook. They were all completely straight-faced about it, too, like it was their last meal before the electric chair.

“Is it always like this?” I looked at Carrots as she dragged me to the shortest line.

“It’s the only way to get things done quickly around here,” she glanced around. “Though there’s usually at least _some_ talk while we’re all waiting, I wonder what…”

She looked again, seeing how much the columns of ears in front of us were trembling, how many noses were twitching when they turned their heads just enough to glance at us.

Or more specifically, me.

“Oh…” she trailed off, her ears drooping. “I-I’m sorry, Nick, I-I didn’t think this—”

I shook my head, taking her shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it, I know I don’t exactly fit in around here,” I smiled a bit, raising my voice. “But a lot of your family might feel better if they hear that I don’t eat meat.”

Every set of ears in the room stood at attention.

“You don’t?”

I chuckled.

“What, you never noticed?” I shook my head again. “I spent most of my childhood surrounded by prey mammals, Carrots, so even if I could take the smell, I still wouldn’t touch it.”

I could hear most of the tension drain out of the room, and things quickly got more animated. Not that they were instantly comfortable around me, but it was definitely way less awkward.

“How’d you meet Auntie Judy?” a little girl looked up at us, pulling her thumb out of her mouth just long enough to ask. Carrots smiled, picked her up and tickled her.

“He’s a good friend from the city,” she said. “And he’s helping me with a big case. A lot of mammals are counting on us to solve it.”

A few other kids starting crowding us; I wrapped my tail around my waist when I saw some of the younger ones eyeing it.

“Do you really work with rhinos and bears?” one of the boys asked, then pointed at me. “Is he a cop, too?”

A lot of other voices joined in after that.

“Are you guys partners?”

“Did you ever arrested anyone?”

“Have you been in any fights?”

“What the hell is that _fox_ doing in here?!”

The tallest rabbit I’d ever seen stormed over and ripped Carrots’ niece from her, his white fur standing on end, glaring at me like he wanted to skin me alive.

And from the way his paws were twitching, that was exactly what he was about to do.

“I don’t know who let you in here, _fox,_ ” he snapped. “But you better turn tail and beat it, before I do it for you!”

“Uncle Wyatt!” Carrots stepped between us, taking the kid back and putting her on the floor. “You can’t talk to Nick like that!”

He didn’t listen, just grabbed her wrist and yanked her behind him. The kits backed off, making plenty of space for whatever was about to happen, though I really hoped this wouldn’t end in a fight. Carrots looked at me over Wyatt’s shoulder, biting her lip, her nose twitching in worry.

“She’s right, you know,” I said calmly, crossing my arms. “If you’re going to scream at me for being a fox, you should at least wait until I do something shifty first.”

He scoffed.

“I already know what you did,” his eyes narrowed. “Your rotten stink’s all over her, and there’s only _one_ way it could’ve gotten there…”

He stabbed my chest with a claw.

“You took advantage of her!”

A hundred gasps cut through the air, and I kept my face blank as I stared down at him. His nose was almost level with my shoulder, his ears stock-straight and shaking in my face.

“I’ve never taken advantage of anyone,” my voice had gone flat, like it always did when I tried to hide how pissed I was. I shoved his paw away. “I’ve spent my whole life fighting the stereotypes shoved down everyone’s throats, and I’ve changed way more stubborn minds than yours, _Wyatt._ ”

I reached past him and took Carrots’ paw, smiling at her as she came back to my side. I let myself get lost in her eyes for a second before turning back to him.

“And as I’m sure you heard, I’m helping her with a big case,” I went on. “So if you don’t mind, buddy, we’d just like to grab some food and get back to work.”

“And I have two plates for you right here,” her mom came out from behind a table, carrying a tray. “I was just about to bring it to you when you came out.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Carrots let go of my paw to take it, not even glancing her uncle’s way as she grinned up at me. “Ready to go, Slick?”

She walked out before I could answer, leaving me no choice but to follow her. She wouldn’t look at me when I finally caught up, staring at the food like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

“I’m sorry about my uncle, Nick,” she said, before I could ask. “I-If I’d known he was here, I wouldn’t have—”

“Hey,” I took her shoulder, kneeling next to her. “You really don’t know me at all if you think that dumbass is enough to get under my fur.”

She just shook her head, pulling away from me.

“You can’t lie to me, Nick, I know how pissed you were,” she started walking again. I got up and followed her, but she didn’t say anything else until we were back in our room, locking the door before putting the tray on the desk. “This is why I wanted to come here without you, Nick, I didn’t want you to have to put up with anyone’s speciesist bullcrap.”

She pulled out the chair and dropped into it, burying her face in her paws. I sighed, putting an arm around her.

“I told you, Judy, I’ve dealt with that shit so long it doesn’t even bother me anymore,” I pulled her closer, kissing the back of her head. “Now, how about we forget his ass for a while and get down to work? We’ve only got two days left, after all.”

It was a minute or two before she looked up at me, swiping the back of her paw across her cheek before giving me a weak smile.

“Yeah, okay,” she hugged me. “I’m so lucky to have you, Nick.”

I hugged her back.

“Right back at you, Carrots,” I said softly. “Right back at you.”

* * *

_“Oh, they’re just adorable, Nailah!”_

_Aunt Asha looked down at me, smiling. Mommy had invited her to help with us, since Daddy was gone again. I was scared she wouldn’t like us, since a lot of hers and Daddy’s families didn’t, but she seemed to like us as much as Mommy did._

_“How old are they again?”_

_“Nicky just turned six,” Mommy rubbed my head. “And Finnick’s nine months.”_

_Aunt Asha nodded._

_“And how’s Tony been reacting to them?”_

_Mommy brushed through her mane, tapping her hoof on her cup._

_“He’s…still warming up to them,” she shook her head. “He’s always wanted brothers, I-I’m sure he just needs some more time to get used to them.”_

_“He’s off from school now, right?” Asha came with her own cup from the kitchen and sat next to Mommy. “Maybe we could take them to the park, or that new zoo that just opened downtown. Finding something they have in common might help smooth things out.”_

_Mommy thought about it, tapping her cup again. I walked to the couch and climbed up, looking at Fin in his baby carrier. A whole nine months old and all he did was sleep. I sighed and jumped to Daddy’s chair, laughing when it tried to eat me._

_“Nicky!” Mommy looked at me. “No jumping on the furniture, that’s what the trampoline out back is for!”_

_“Yes, Mommy,” I got on the floor and stared out the window. It was still raining. “I hate rain!”_

_Aunt Asha smiled at Mommy, the sneaky smile Mommy got when she played a joke on Daddy. She got on the floor and sat on her knees._

_“Have you ever heard the story of where the rain comes from?”_

_“No,” my ears stood up. I loved stories. “Are you going to tell me, Aunt Asha?”_

_She nodded, still smiling._

_“Only if you help me make some of your famous pawpsicles while I tell it!”_

_I jumped up._

_“Yeah! I can do that!”_

_She laughed and got up._

_“Then let’s get started!”_

I didn’t wake up smiling too often, but right now, it was pretty hard not to. Aunt Asha had ended up being one of my favorite mammals, but she was still only second or third to the bunny in my arms.

I looked down at her, running a paw over her limp ears. Her nose twitched a bit as she snuggled closer to me, her paw tightening in my fur. We’d stayed up most of the night, Carrots going through the video feeds while I’d read the notes she’d scratched out while talking around, in case either of us had missed something. But the feeds were still the same dead end they’d been yesterday, and what she’d managed to find had been pretty much nothing. All the mammals in town had been able to tell her was some abandoned farms had been bought recently, but nothing about when or who.

_But I guess it’s still worth looking into,_ I scratched behind one of her ears, snickering when her foot started kicking. _We don’t have a lot of other leads to follow._

I looked at the clock on the wall, my ears heating when I saw the big crack on the face. I hadn’t even realized it’d been knocked off the floor until we’d come back here with our food, Carrots saying it wasn’t the worst thing a clock had suffered in this place. I was just glad it still worked, even if it was kind of hard to read now.

“Mmm…Nick?”

I turned back to Carrots, smiling when I saw her barely open eyes looking up at me. She crawled up my chest, sighing as she nuzzled under my chin.

“I don’t want to get up yet,” she muttered. “But like you said, we only have two days left…”

“I know,” I sat up, making her groan as she slipped off me, grabbing the map of Bunnyburrow she’d bought in town yesterday. She’d circled the farms she’d been told about, set so far out they were almost at the edge. “We should get that big one out of the way first, then hit the smaller ones if we come up empty.”

She sat up, her carrot nightshirt hanging off her shoulder.

“I think we’d be better off checking these out first,” she pointed to one of the smaller ones. “We can split up and cross them both off the list at once, then meet up at the big one when we’re done.”

I shrugged.

“Makes sense, I guess,” I grabbed my phone from the nightstand. “But either way, we should get going. We’ve already burned a few hours of daylight, and I really don’t want to be all the way out there after dark.”

“Me either, especially if there actually ends up being a drug den out there,” she shivered. “It’s unnerving, having something like that so close to home.”

I chuckled.

“Then don’t go near the northern Meadowlands or Happytown when we’re back in the city,” I got out of bed and knelt by my pack. “Most of the gangs won’t even touch those streets.”

She rolled out of bed, standing on her toes as she stretched her arms over her head,

“Mmm, that feels good,” she walked past me, running a paw across the back of my neck. “And I’m sure _you_ speak from experience, Mr. I’m Silano Big’s godson.”

I rolled my eyes, squeezing her tail just before it was out of reach. She squeaked, jumping around before glaring at me.

“You little pervert.”

I smirked when she stomped to her bag.

“If you think that now, just wait until we actually have sex.”

I laughed when her ears went red, dodging the pillow she chucked at me.

* * *

An hour later, we were at the first farm, me in my low rider, her in her family’s rusted out mess of a pickup. I watched as she got out, shaking my head as it rocked when she shut the door.

“I can’t believe that thing made it this far.”

She smiled.

“Didn’t you hear how quiet the engine is?” it turned into a smirk. “You of all mammals should know looks aren’t everything!”

I scoffed.

“Big talk coming from a little stuffed toy like you!”

She groaned, flipping me off as she went to the barn. I laughed, then hit the dirt road to the next farm, which seemed to have been abandoned even longer than the first one. It was so overgrown I couldn’t even start to guess where the fields might’ve been, and all that was left of the house, flooded with water and who-knew-how-many years’ worth of muck. I pulled out my phone and started to look around, snapping some shots and sending them to Carrots.

_‘Yeah theres nothing here Not unless the whole labs underground’_

_‘It might be,’_ she got back to me pretty fast. _‘Keep looking, though, you might still find something.’_

I rolled my eyes.

_‘Fine but I still dont think itll lead anywhere’_

I put my phone away and took out my knife; as empty as this place seemed, I still didn’t want to get caught off-guard. I shuffled my feet in the looser patches of dirt, looking for some kind of hatch or something, but there wasn’t anything but busted scrap and plants. Parts of the silos were still standing, surprisingly, but there wasn’t any sign of a barn anywhere.

_It’s like it was never here,_ I glanced around one last time. _Just how old is this place?_

I jumped a bit when my phone went off, it was Carrots.

_“I haven’t found anything,”_ she slammed the truck’s door. _“What about you?”_

I shook my head.

“Nothing here, either,” I headed back to the road. “The buildings barely exist.”

_“I just started toward the big farm,”_ she said after a minute. _“How far back are you?”_

“Just got to my car,” I looked at the sky as I slid behind the wheel. “Parked further out than I thought.”

I glanced at the clock as I started up, we’d only spent about an hour checking these farms out. I smirked.

“You’re not trying to hurry this along so we can go back to our room, are you?”

There was a long pause, and I could just see the shock switch to pissed off on her face.

_“Just get to the farm already, Wilde.”_

I just laughed as she hung up.


	11. Chapter 11

Carrots was already looking around when I pulled up, making a show of ignoring me when I asked if she’d found anything. She just pointed to a line she’d scratched in the dirt, then to the field on the other side of it. When I looked back, she was already gone. I chuckled.

_Was starting to wonder when she’d pull that on me._

I’d used the trick before, when I’d still worked for my godfather, and later when I’d been cornered by paparazzi. I’d only pulled it on Carrots once, though, when we’d watched Yumiko so Rocco could check on Astelle and Zariah at the hospital. I’d given him and Ed a few weeks off, since their family needed them more than I did, even if it did leave Leo on his own most of the time, since Max and Jeremy were still MIA.

I shook my head. We only had a day and half left, and I was standing around with my head in the clouds. I grabbed a stick, using it to push the tall grass aside as I made my way through the overgrown field.

 _And Carrots called me crazy for bringing flea shampoo,_ I was definitely going to need it after this. I glanced at the sky, seeing it was still overcast, though it hadn’t rained since we’d gotten here. I was starting to wish they’d just get the big downpour over with, already, even if we didn’t have time to wait for everything to dry out.

I stopped messing with the grass, straightening as the wind blew past me. There’d definitely been animals here recently, but there were so many other scents mixed in I couldn’t tell what they’d been, or if I recognized them. And that was what I really didn’t get about all this: the only place anyone was going savage was the city, so why would a related drug farm or whatever be out here in Bunnyburrow? It was over two hundred miles away, and there were plenty of places just outside the city, and even more inside, where this stuff could be made without anyone thinking twice about it, so why go through all this?

It had to mean something else was going on here, that whoever was behind this wanted more than just driving mammals crazy, but what was it? Were they trying to get some kind of message across? Did they want Lionheart to bring back the shock collars his predecessor had gotten rid of? What the hell was the end goal here?

 _Ugh…_ I wasn’t sure if it was the case or dehydration, but my head was starting to spin. _Should’ve brought a water bottle with me. Wait, what’s that?_

I dropped the stick and got to all fours, my ears perked to the side. The grass had started rustling, and I was starting to hear someone talking. I grabbed my phone, pulled up the camera, and hit record.

“You really don’t think anyone will catch on?” the guy sounded even younger than Carrots, and like he knew he was in over his head. The other guy laughed.

“Why do you think the boss made us do this all the way out here?” he didn’t sound much older, but something in his tone told me he’d done crap like this before. “We’ve been getting away with this for months, and all they’ve been able to do is lock these guys up. There’s no way the cops will figure it out!”

“It’s not the cops I’m worried about, Jamie,” the first kid said. “It’s who they have working with them!”

“Pfft, you mean that bunny? Please,” Jamie laughed. “Everyone knows rabbits are only good for farming and fucking, there’s no way that little cutie got to be a cop on her own!”

“That’s not who I’m talking about, Jamie!” he sounded like he was about to start panicking. “Didn’t you hear? They got _Nick freaking Wilde_ working for them!”

Jamie stopped, the other kid grunting as he walked into him.

“You better not fucking with me, Benny,” he was starting to lose his cool. “T-There’s no way a fox would work with the cops, especially Wilde!”

They started walking again, and I crept after them, staying far enough back that they couldn’t see me through the grass.

“It’s true!” Benny shouted. “That bunny even pointed him out at that press conference, it was on the news and everything!”

Jamie groaned.

“So what if he’s working with the cops now? Even he hasn’t been able to figure out what we’re doing!”

 _No, but I’m pretty sure I’m about to,_ I smiled. _And you two just signed the confession._

I stopped, kneeling as I sent the video to Carrots.

_‘I think I just solved this case’_

* * *

“What? What do you mean you couldn’t find anything?”

Carrots stared up at the biggest female cheetah I’d ever seen. She shook her head.

“I mean ‘we couldn’t find anything’, Hopps,” she crossed her arms, sneering down at us. “This place was bought in the last few months, yes, but there’s no sign anyone’s near the property since, except you two.”

“But what about that conversation Nick overheard?” Carrots put her paws on her hips, her foot tapping like crazy. “He sent me the recording just a few hours ago!”

“Did he now?” the cheetah turned on me, and I could barely keep my tail from hitting my legs. “And did he happen to _see_ the mammals in question?”

I swallowed, I’d been too busy trying to keep out of sight.

“Well, no—”

“And did you happen to catch their scents?”

“Not really, but—”

“‘But’ nothing; you brought us out here on a dead end,” she turned back to Carrots, her eyes narrowed to slits. “We already have too much to deal with in the city, where we still have _actual_ criminals to catch on top of this savage mammals case. I heard the recording, and you two could’ve just as easily faked the whole thing just to waste out time. I certainly wouldn’t put it past _him_.”

She jabbed a claw at me, keeping her glare on Judy.

“I was almost starting to think maybe you _could_ be a competent officer, Hopps, but the last few months have told me otherwise. Not only have you teamed up with a _fox_ ,” she glared at me again. “But you’ve spent the last _three months_ chasing _his_ ghosts instead of doing _your_ job!”

She didn’t bother hiding her smile after that, not that she’d been trying too hard in the first place.

“After this screw-up, I’m afraid I have no choice but to recommend you to Bogo for—”

“And you can just stop right there, Maywood.”

We turned to see a white wolf and a tigress, both doing a nice job of staring the cheetah down.

“Nick and Judy are the reason we’ve gotten _this_ far in the case to start with, I would’ve thought even you’d be aware of that by now,” she held up a paw when Maywood tried talking. “You’ve already been reported for harassing Officer Hopps before, I don’t think I have to remind you what’ll happen if we have to do it again.”

That shut her right up. She stared at the tiger, then turned, smacking me in the face with her tail before storming off.

“Ow,” I held a paw over my eye. “What the hell’s her problem?”

The tiger sighed.

“Sorry about that, Wilde, Rebecca just has some… _issues_ she hasn’t quite worked out yet,” she shook her head. “ _I_ never would’ve let her into the academy, but the need for fast officers matters more than what a lot of us think.”

“She was second in our class,” Carrots rubbed her arm. “She thinks the only way I could’ve beat her was if I slept with one or more of the instructors.”

“And even _if_ she had, it wouldn’t have a difference,” the tiger smiled. “Sure, it took her some time to catch up in the physical areas, but her test scores started off the charts and stayed there. She worked too hard to be anywhere _but_ the top.”

“And you should see her in the ring!” the wolf’s tail wagged like crazy. “She took Pennington down in about thirty seconds flat!”

He pointed to the elephant talking to Bogo. I took my paw off my eye, blinking as the last of the burning faded.

“Not too hard to believe that,” I’d seen what she could do to rhinos. Then my mind went back to the cheetah. “But what about Maywood? Was this really just a waste of time?”

The tiger sighed.

“As far as the savage mammals case is concerned, I’m afraid this _was a_ dead end, it’s just an illegal distillery,” she smiled a bit. “But it does mean we’ve arrested two mammals that’ve been on our list for a while. Brothers Jamie and Benny Johnson, wanted for armed robbery, assault and supplying illicit watering holes throughout the city and tri-burrows.”

Carrots tried to smile back.

“Well, that’s something, at least,” it dropped when she turned to me. “But I wish we’d gotten further on _this_ case. I’m sorry, Nick.”

I shrugged.

“It’s fine, Fluff, we still have another day to try and figure this out, and I know you won’t let either of us rest until we do.”

She laughed a bit.

“You’re right on that,” she looked over the field full of cops. “But it looks like you don’t really need us here anymore, so I guess we’ll just—”

“One moment, Hopps,” Bogo walked up, way less pissed than I’d thought he would be. “After your find today, I’m feeling generous, so I’ll give you twelve more hours, don’t waste them.”

She beamed, grabbing my arm and dragging me with her when she ran back to the truck.

“Thank you, sir! I promise we won’t let you down!”

* * *

It was hailing when we got back to the farm. I stayed in my car when I shut off, sighing as I fell back against the seat. We’d already wasted two of our three days, and all we’d gotten was an unrelated distillery.I ground the heels of my paws into my eyes; all that work, and almost nothing to show for it. It felt like I was letting everyone down all over again.

 _Stop thinking like that, dumbass,_ I snapped at myself. _You didn’t get the right mark, but at least you got_ someone, _Bogo even gave you an extension because of it!_

Yeah, but twelve hours wasn’t going to get us far, not when it had taken almost four months just to reach this point, and now only lead was dried up.

 _What the hell are we supposed to do now?_ I dropped my head on the steering wheel, my claws digging into the cover. _We don’t have time to start from scratch!_

I didn’t bother looking up when the passenger door open, the scent told me exactly who it was.

“I don’t feel like talking right now, Fluff,” I dragged my head off the wheel and sat up, going stiff when I realized her scent was spiked. I turned to her, my tail flicking against the seat when I saw how she was staring at me, her eyes half-open and glazed. She licked her lips, messing with the buttons of her shirt as she crawled toward me.

“Good,” she finally got it open, my whole body heating when I saw she wasn’t wearing anything under it. “Because I don’t really feel like talking, either.”

She threw herself at me, shoving up my shirt and kissing me before I could say anything. She didn’t hold back, her claws hitting my skin as she dragged her paws through my fur, her tongue attacking mine when it darted into my mouth. She broke the kiss when I grabbed her ass, and the way she looked at me had any sane thought fleeing the scene. She grabbed my collar, the awkward trip to the backseat even shorter when she kissed me like that again.

“Oh, God, Judy…” I stared down at her, her shirt falling open as she dropped to her back, panting. I buried my nose in the white fur on her stomach, even softer than the gray, her scent so thick it was almost choking me. And I was sure mine had the same effect on her. I bit down when I hit the tuft on her chest, the heat of her skin bleeding into me as he claws dragged down my back. “Y-You’re so—”

She wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me in until my face was buried in hers. I licked her pulse point, groaning when her paws darted down to screw with my belt. I could feel _that_ starting to come over me, but right now, lost in the girl I loved, I couldn’t bring myself to care. I took her paw, kissing her palm before guiding it to my chest, my heart pounding as crazy as hers.

“You sure you want to do this?” I asked, barely able to whisper it. She took her paw away and grabbed my face.

“Of course I do, Nick,” her eyes were glowing now. “And it’s not just because I’m in heat. I love you, more than I thought I ever could love someone!”

I smiled, leaning down to kiss her.

“I love you, too,” I swallowed, my smile fading. “But I have to make sure, it’s not something we can go back on.”

Her eyes narrowed, and she sat up, grabbing my belt again.

“I wouldn’t have started this if I didn’t want to finish it,” she unzipped my jeans and shoved them down. “Now stop stalling and fuck me already!”

I couldn’t hold back a laugh, reaching for the tight jeans that had been in the back of my mind all day.

“You’re the boss, sweetheart.”

I let her peel off my shirt before leaning over her again, trapping her under me. I was kind of short for a red fox, but she was still only two-thirds my size, and I was worried that, no matter how careful I was, I’d end up hurting her. I started pulling back, muttering something about at least getting back to our room, when the door suddenly flew open, Savage and Wyatt glaring down at us.

“Both of you, get dressed, _now_ ,” Wyatt growled, looking like he wanted to skin me again. “Then get inside, it’s time we had a little chat.”

* * *

“-in the backseat of a car, with a _fox_?! You were raised better than this, Judy!”

Wyatt had been going like that for almost an hour, and it sounded like he wouldn’t be stopping any time soon. He’d dragged Carrots into the first empty room we’d passed, shutting the door in my face, leaving me stuck with Savage, who looked like e was about to rip my tail off.”

“I can’t believe you did this,” he snarled. “My own _sister_!”

I shoved out a breath, dragging a paw through my hair before rubbing the back of my neck.

“And _what_ exactly, do you think I did?” I stared him down. “Do you really think I’d take advantage of her, of _anyone_ like that?”

He glared at me, then looked away, sighing long and heavy.

“A few years ago, that wouldn’t have even crossed my mind, but now? Now that I know what goes on in your head?” he shook his, slowly, his ears dropping to his back. “I don’t know what to believe about you anymore.”

It felt like he’d just stabbed me. I stared at him, my jaw slack, ears flat against my head, tail limp. Then my eyes narrowed, and I fought the urge to snarl at him, knowing it would just make things worse.

“I’m not in the same place I was then,” I stepped toward him, getting angrier when he backed away. “And I _love_ Judy, I’d never do _anything_ to hurt her!”

“You can’t say that!” he screamed, a pitch I didn’t think his voice could reach. “Not with… _that_ scraping around in your head! All it would take is one slip-up to kill her!”

I stopped, tried to say something, but he wasn’t done yet.

“And how much do you even know about her? You haven’t even known her six months!”

I stopped. Was he really doing this? I shoved the anger aside, throwing my paws down as I took a step back.

“She’s one of the kindest, most thoughtful mammals I’ve ever met,” it didn’t take much to keep my voice even, I couldn’t stay mad when I talked about her. “She’s selfless, determined, always ready to help.”

I smiled, sure I was starting to look dazed.

“But she’s also hard-headed, rash and doesn’t always listen, but then, neither do I,” I chuckled a bit. “And I adore that side just as much as everything else about her.”

I focused on Savage.

“I know you’re worried about her, and you have every right to be, but she wants this just as much as I do, and I’ve never been happier,” I swallowed. “And I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her by my side until the day I die.”

Someone gasped behind me.

“Oh, Nick!”

I turned just in time to get thrown to the floor by a fuzzy cannonball. I laughed, hugging her as hard as she did me. I couldn’t care when Wyatt stormed over to us, looking like he was about to bust an artery.

“We are none done with this conversation, Judy,” he stabbed a claw at me, his arm shaking. “As for you, _fox,_ I want you out of this house _now_ , I’m not about to let you corrupt my niece anymore!”

Carrots went stiff, I winced as her claws dug into my shoulder.

“The only corrupted one here is _you_ , Uncle Wyatt,” she turned on him, his look changing to a guy who’d just pissed himself, and I could smell it. “Just because you had one bad encounter with a fox when you were young does not mean you get to dictate how the rest of out family feels about them!”

She pushed away from me and got up, her fists tight and shaking at her sides as stalked toward him, forcing him back against the wall.

“If you so much as _think_ of putting together a plan to hurt Nick, I’ll have your ass hauled off to jail so fast the cuffs will melt,” she shoved him so hard I was surprised the wall didn’t crack. “And you will be banned from ever contacting our family again, I won’t have anyone else corrupted by _your_ ignorance and hatred!”

She was shouting by the end of it, and shoved him again for emphasis. But when she turned back to me, the rage on her face faded completely, and she threw herself at me again. I forgot anyone else was around when she kissed me like that again, and I I returned it with everything I had.

“Come on, Slick,” she pulled away, panting. “We still have a lot of work to do, then we can finish what we started.”

I groaned when she ground against me, not even trying to be subtle.

“Aw, hell, yeah.”

* * *

The storm had gotten worse, the hail coming down harder, and now sleet was mixed in, too. It’d also started thundering, something I’d thought only happened in rainstorms. The wind was going crazy, and the lights were starting to flicker, I wasn’t sure how much longer they’d last.

“So,” I finished my sandwich and set the plate next to me, leaning back against the side of her bed. “What do we do now?”

Carrots sighed, lying on it with one foot hanging over the edge, staring at the ceiling.

“I don’t know, we didn’t exactly have a lot to go on when we got here, and now we don’t have _anything_!” she grabbed one of the million plushes that covered it and hugged it to her. “I’m starting to think we’ll never solve this!”

“I thought I was supposed to be the cynical one around here,” I grabbed her ankle and hauled her into my lap. She dropped the toy, grabbing my shirt and burying her face in my neck.

“I’m really sorry about everything that’s happened here, Nick,” she laid her head on my shoulder. “I-I didn’t know Uncle Wyatt would be here, and if I had I never would’ve—”

I tilted her chin back, cutting her off when I kissed her.

“You already said that, Carrots, and I told you, idiots like that don’t even bother me anymore,” I hugged her more tightly. “It doesn’t matter how much bullshit gets thrown at us or who’s doing it, I said I wanted you by my side, and I meant it.”

She looked at me, and I thought I saw tears in her eyes, but she blinked them away.

“I know, and I believe you, I always have,” she looked at her paw, still clutching my shirt. “I guess I just don’t understand _why_. I mean, you could get pretty much any girl you wanted, but you picked a dumb little bunny like me. Why?”

I smirked at her.

“Besides the fact I’ve kind of always had a thing for rabbits?” I chuckled, then covered her paw with mine. “But it’s not species I care about, Judy, you could be any type of mammal, and I’d still feel the same way I do now.”

My smirk dropped.

“But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t wonder the same thing sometimes. All the guys in the world that are better than me, and you still picked _me_ ,” I ran a paw down her ears, then cupped her cheek. She smiled.

“I told Jack I’ve been in love with you since high school,” she started. “And I meant it, even if, at first, it was just because of how hot and rich you are, I _was_ fifteen, after all.”

We laughed, and she cuddled closer to me.

“But then I started reading your interviews, watched some of that show you guys were on, and I realized there was so much more to you than that,” she let go of my shirt, pressing her paw flat to my chest. “You’re brave, loyal, generous and you’ve always done whatever you can to fight stereotypes. You never give up, no matter what gets in your way.”

My heart started racing when she looked at me, getting faster as she kissed me, her paw sliding up my shirt until her fingers brushed through my fur.

“You’re also a badass guitar player and one hell of a kisser,” she giggled, the sound trailing off when I traced her bottom lip.

“I can do a lot more than that,” I kissed her, pulling back as the lights flashed out. “And it looks like now’s the perfect time to show you.”

She giggled again, moaning when I dragged my claws down her ear, gasping as I nipped her shoulder. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust, but soon I could see her as well as I could during the day. Lightning flashed outside, her eyes glowing for that split second they caught it. Her nose started twitching, her paws more impatient about getting my clothes off.

“Okay, okay!” I laughed, licking under her chin as I messed with her shirt, panting when the taste of her hit me. “I know you’re in heat, little bun, but you know it’s always better when it’s drawn out…”

I kissed her, her tongue attacking mine as she went for my belt. I moaned as her paws trailed lower, snaking into my jeans as her teeth grazed my neck. She bit down, enough to make it hurt, and I fucking loved it.

“Oh, God, Judy,” I grunted when she bit me again, her tongue trailing through my fur. I could feel every stroke, knead and claw-drag pulling me closer to the edge; as the last second, I grabbed her wrists, panting as I pulled her paws away. “As much as I’m loving this, I’d rather be _in_ you before I go off, and I know _you’d_ like it better, too.”

She watched me, squirming as I undressed her, running my paw through her fur, gasping as I pressed my thumb into her, squeaking when I hit a sweet spot.

“Y-Yes!” she threw her head back. “Oh, God, Nick, yes!”

I chuckled, picking her up as I got the last of her clothes off, biting her lip before dropping her on the bed. She stared at me as I striped, curling up when I started crawling toward her. She shook her head.

“N-Not like this,” she said nervously. “Please…”

She reached under the pillow, and the next second I was flat on my back, her legs wrapped around my chest as she cuffed my paws to the headboard.

“What the hell?!” I tugged on them, glaring at her. “You sneaky rabbit!”

She giggled, her eyes never leaving mine as she crawled backwards, sitting on her knees between my legs.

“I’ve had this fantasy since I was nineteen, and did you really think I’d let our first time be completely on _your_ terms?” she shook her head, looking sexy as hell when she licked her lips. “Don’t worry, I _may_ just let you get your way next time, _if_ you’re good and let me finish.”

She giggled again, my heart pounding when I saw the look in her eyes.

“And the more you move,” she went on. “The more I’ll draw it out.”

I looked at her.

“Draw what ou…oh, God!”

It wasn’t the first time a girl had licked me like that, but it sure as hell felt like it. I’d never thought she could move that slow, keeping her eyes locked with mine. Every pass of her tongue, every little huff of breath was dragging me closer to the edge, and then, I felt the soft suck of her mouth as she pulled me in. She moaned, finally closing her eyes, like she was savoring it. She leaned closer, her paws pressing harder on my thighs, her back arched so I could see the tip of her tail. It didn’t take much longer for me to let loose, my heart racing when I heard her start swallowing, riding out every spasm like a pro.

She didn’t pull back until I was done, both of us panting as she licked me clean. I just stared at her when she started grooming herself, her tongue darting out to catch anything that had slipped past. She dragged a claw over her chin and sucked on her finger, moaning again like she’d just finished her favorite meal.

“Sweeter than I’m used to, but still delicious,” she caught my stare, holding it as she slowly pulled her finger from her mouth. “Probably the best I’ve had yet.”

She leaned over me, still licking her face clean.

“You didn’t think you were my first fox, did you?”

I just groaned, falling back on the bed.

“It’s official,” I dragged in a breath. “You’re the hottest girl I’ve ever met.”

She giggled, reaching up to undo the cuffs. I buried my nose in her fur, licking and biting whatever I could reach. I grabbed her hips when my paws were free and flipped us over; I knew she could barely see me, also that it wouldn’t stop her from loving what I was about to do. I leaned down and kissed her, cutting off whatever she’d been about to say.

“You had your chance to drive me insane,” I nipped her ear, making her squirm. “Now, it’s my turn.”

I kissed her again, feeling her arms wrap around my chest. She gasped when I brushed against her, grabbing my ass and shoving me in. The way her scent had changed told me she was soaked, and hell, was she. I didn’t bother holding back like I had with smaller girls before, she’d already proven she could handle it. Her legs clamped on my waist as she ground her hips against mine, biting my neck even harder than before.

“P-Please, Nick…” she begged, crying out when I started going faster. I hissed when her claws dug into my back, a burning sting telling me she’d already gouged it more than once. But I didn’t care, I always liked it more when it hurt.

“Judy…” I leaned down and kissed her, biting her tongue when she rippled around me, soaking my legs where I was still locked inside her. It didn’t take me much longer to finish, and it didn’t surprise me at all when she went off again, just as I did.

“W-Wow…” she panted, snuggling into my chest when I turned us both on our sides. We’d be stuck together for the next hour, and I couldn’t think of anything I wanted more. “N-No wonder no one ever came back, Slick, t-they couldn’t handle you!”

I chuckled, pulling her as close as I could. I kissed the top of her head.

“And I haven’t even shown you half of what I can do, sweetheart.”

She buried her face in my fur, dragging in a breath.

“I can’t wait to see the rest of it,” she said, her voice muffled. Her arms shook a bit when she hugged me. “I love you, Nick…”

I smiled, dragging my cheek along the top of her head.

“I love you, Judy.”

* * *

It was still dark when I woke up, about five in the morning, according to the clock. The storm had cleared out during the night, and it didn’t take a master farmer to figure out how much damage it had caused.

_Might as well get it out of the way before we get roped into clean-up duty…_

It took some time to get out of bed, since Carrots was still curled up on me, but I managed to get up without waking her, hoping she wouldn’t notice how crappy her new pillow was. I pulled on my old sweats and hoodie before grabbing her notebook from her desk, flipping to an empty page. I swiped the carrot pen she always carried around—seriously, what was it with rabbits and carrots, anyway?—scribbling a note before leaving it on the nightstand.

_‘Went for a run, didn’t want to wake you. Nick’_

I slipped out without looking back, knowing I’d just crawl back into bed and cuddle with her again. And it wasn’t exactly easy to think clearly when I was close to her like that, especially with her scent telling me she was still in heat.

I’d scratched lines in the walls as Carrots had dragged me through the house, and thankfully, they were still there, so it only took a few minutes to find my way outside. The sun was barely starting to rise, but I didn’t need it to see what the storm had left behind: broken branches, cracked windows, even some dents in the corrugated tin roof of the barn.

_Not as bad as I’d thought it would be, though…_

I turned to look at the house, a giant Easter egg some kid had tried burying, but had gotten bored half-way through. The pink trim was faded, the light wood it had been built out of showing through cracks and scrapes in the pale yellow paint. The tiny front porch was off-white, the door rounded like all the ones inside, barely tall enough for me to walk through without having to duck. The mailbox and welcome mat were shaped like carrots, of course, the light covers painted, by one of the hundreds of kids inside no doubt, to look like butterflies. At least, I thought they were butterflies.

 _If this place were any more sugar-coated, I’d freaking puke,_ I rolled my eyes, paws in my front pocket as I turned away. _But it sure explains a lot…_

I stuck by the fence that outlined the farm; Carrots had told me it was four acres, and was actually one of the smaller ones. I’d never gotten how Bunnyburrow always felt so _close_ , since there were more mammals than a lot of cities, but it still felt like a small town, like Podunk or Lakeside. Must be a farm community thing.

I stopped after my second loop, not because I was tired, but because the Hopps were starting to wake up, and with what Wyatt had already put us through, I didn’t really feel like running into any of them without Carrots next to me. I jumped the fence, heading through some lemon trees until I couldn’t see the house, climbing the biggest one and digging my claws into a low branch. I did as many pull-ups as I could with each paw before using both, hoping the extra burn would at least start getting rid of my nervous energy, but all it did was give me more time to think about how much could still go wrong.

 _We’ve only got about a day left to solve this thing,_ I dragged myself onto the branch and hooked my knees around it, letting myself fall back. _And if we don’t crack it before then, I can kiss my shield goodbye._

I didn’t bother keeping track of the sit-ups I did, my mind was going too many other places.

 _That’s not even the important thing here,_ I closed my eyes when the sun started coming through, my breath rasping a bit in my ears. _Thirty families are counting on us to find the source of this drug, it’s the only chance they have of getting their loved ones back._

I couldn’t believe it had already gotten that high, and there still wasn’t any sign of it slowing down. It had moved beyond just _Savage Wilde_ fans and a few accidents, whoever was behind this didn’t care anymore who they poisoned: preds, prey, adults, kids of any age. All of them had gone savage, locked in glass cells and sedated as the new city-wide research team did everything they could to make an antidote, up against a wall until Carrots and I tracked down the source. And it was starting to look like it just wasn’t going to happen. I sighed, let go of the branch and flipped to my feet, my ears flicking back as I brushed myself off. I turned, Savage leaning against another tree as he drummed his fingers on the trunk. My eyes narrowed, and I turned away from him.

“If you’re here to tell me to stay away from Judy, then save it,” I just about spat it. “Because I’m not about to let her go.”

A few seconds passed before he shoved out a breath, dead leaves crunching as he walked toward me.

“That’s not why I’m here,” he stopped. “I know something that’ll help you.”

I turned just enough to look at him: ears flat against his back, staring at the ground as he rubbed his arm.

“And you couldn’t tell me this earlier?” I couldn’t keep the annoyance from my voice. “Before we wasted all that time with those farms?”

He flinched, then shook his head.

“I didn’t figure it out until this morning,” he said, still not meeting my gaze. “And all I can say is, if you didn’t think my uncle sucked before, you will now.”

I stared at him, my confusion winning out as I turned to fully face him.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I stuffed my paws in my pocket, my tail starting to flick behind me. “I know Wyatt’s an ass, but do you really think he’d…”

I trailed off when footsteps started behind him, he froze when Wyatt slapped a paw on his shoulder.

“Find a way to make predators go savage, so they’d lock you pieces of shit up like they should’ve from the start?” he chuckled, then sneered at me. “Why yes, yes I did.”

He patted Savage’s shoulder, then shoved him back, another buck grabbing his arms and holding him. Wyatt walked toward me, waving his paw around as he monologued like a movie villain.

“I didn’t get Ph.D.s in biochemistry and toxicology for nothing,” he started. “But it took longer than I thought to find what _really_ makes you guys tick.”

His smile sent ice down my back.

“And I bet you’re thinking I’m arrogant enough to come right out and tell you, since I did just admit to making it."

He smile widened, and he laughed.

“Well, you’re right, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to, it’ll be a lot more fun to watch you try and figure it out for yourself,” he came closer, and I stepped back, keeping a close eye on the paw tucked behind his back. “And when you do fail, it might finally make my niece see just how pathetic you preds are, and she’ll throw you in the trash where you belong.”

He looked me up and down, his smile dropping back into a sneer.

“But before that, I think I’ll have some fun with you.”

I didn’t have time to react before the shock came, my whole body locking up as it coursed through me. I fell, barely able to hear the mammal that walked up behind me, and I caught the smallest glance of a bright yellow, police-issue tazer. The rabbit holding it pulled the trigger again, and I curled up, unable to do anything else.

“No! Uncle Wyatt!” Savage was screaming, but it sounded far away, like an echo. I could barely breathe when the shocks finally stopped, tears soaking my fur as I stared up at Wyatt. What little breath I managed to get was forced out when he kicked me, his claws digging in. All I could see now were stars, black spots as he kept going; blood spattered across his foot when I coughed, and it just pissed him off more. He growled, stomping hard on my paw when I tried to crawl away.

“You’re not going anywhere, _fox_ ,” he turned to Savage. “You’re sure you told me the truth about him, Jack, that he’ll lose it if he’s provoked enough?”

I froze, staring at Savage. He looked more guilty than I’d ever seen him, wouldn’t even turn his head toward me. It was a long time before he said anything, my vision clearing as I finally started to get my breath back.

“I only told you because I thought you could _help_ him,” his teeth were clenched. “I know you don’t like preds, but I never thought you’d do all… _this_ shit to him!”

He finally looked at me, tears in his eyes.

“Nick, I swear, I had no idea he would do this!” he fought against the buck holding him. “I’m so sorry I got you into this!”

I groaned as I pushed myself up, barely enough to shake my head, as nauseas as it made me.

“I-It’s not your fault, Jack,” I coughed, tasting blood again. I turned to Wyatt, and somehow managed to smirk. “And we all know you won’t get away with this. A-All I have to do is tell Judy, and she’ll haul your ass in…just like she promised.”

He looked at me, then laughed, holding up a carrot-shaped pen.

“Normally, you’d be right, kid, but it’d be my word against yours, and without _this_ ,” he shook his head. “She has no way of getting the truth.”

I stared at it, then coughed.

“T-That’s just a pen,” it was getting hard to breathe again, my chest tightening up. “W-What difference would it make?”

Wyatt clicked a button on the side.

_“T-That’s just a pen…w-what difference would it make?”_

I gasped, choking on it when he kicked me again.

“I gave her this little toy when she graduated from the academy, I’m surprised she never told you what it could do,” he dropped it, stomping on it until it was in pieces. “But it’s not like it matters now, since she won’t be hearing any of this from _you_ , either.”

He reached behind his back again, pulling out the same gun I’d seen Judy shove in her bag before we’d left. I growled at him, the edges of my vision starting to shift. He chuckled.

“Oh, don’t worry, I didn’t hurt her,” he smiled. “Unless you count me hitting her with one of her own tranq darts as hurting her.”

I growled again, tried to tackle him, only to get tased again. All those years I’d been stuck with that damn collar on my neck, and I still couldn’t fight past the shocks.

“No need to get testy, she’s fine,” he laughed again. “She’ll just sleep right through this, and your silly little deadline. And by the time she wakes up?”

He shrugged.

“Well, it’ll be too late to do anything about it.”

Savage gasped, both of them grunting as he tried to get away.

“You can’t do this!” he shouted. “Please, uncle Wyatt, let him go!”

Wyatt didn’t even look at him, waving a paw. 

“Andrew, shut him up.”

Andrew didn’t hesitate, cracking him over the head, letting him drop to the ground when he went limp. I growled as loud as I could, hoping someone on our side was close enough to hear me. Wyatt shook his head, smiling as he pulled back the slide and aimed at me.

“It’s your fault for going so far from the farm, son,” he mocked me one last time, then his grin dropped. “Bye-bye, foxy.”

BANG!

* * *

 _“Doctor, are you sure there’s no other way?” Mom had already been begging with him for an hour. “There has to be_ something _!”_

_The gazelle just looked at her, didn’t even bother to glance at me before he shook his head._

_“He’s already gotten a lot more leeway than other predators in his situation,” he started again. I’d pretty much memorized the whole stupid speech by now. “Delaying it any longer would not only be irresponsible, but_ dangerous _, for him and everyone around him.”_

 _“B-But he’s still just a child,” she just kept arguing with him. “I will_ not _subject my son to that…_ thing _any earlier than I have to!”_

_They stared at each other, then he sighed, shaking his head again._

_“I understand your fears, Mrs. Constantine,” he said. “My wife and I went through something similar when it was time four our foster son to get his collar, but Randall doesn’t have the same conditions that Nick does, which have the potential to make him more dangerous than mammals three times his size.”_

_Mom put a hoof over her mouth, tears in her eyes. She and Dad got upset whenever they had to talk about it, but I still didn’t really know what was going on. I didn’t bother trying to ask, knowing he’d explain it like he did every time. Except this time, I actually tried listening._

_“Your son has what’s known as Instinctual Suppression Syndrome, meaning the part of the brain responsible for controlling our more basic instincts never developed properly,” he stopped, watching her like he always did. “He’s more likely to see other mammals, especially larger predators, as a threat, and has less hesitation about reacting accordingly. There’s also the matter of his_ other _imbalance to consider.”_

_He actually looked at me a second before turning back to my mom._

_“He has what’s known as myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy,” he grabbed his clipboard and flipped through some stuff. “His strength and musculature are far more developed than they should be for a child his age, and combined with his ISS, this means he could inflict serious injuries on others were he to get into a fight.”_

_He shook his head again, pushing his glasses up his nose._

_“I’m sorry, Mrs. Constantine, but I must insist you get him fitted for his collar as soon as possible. You all may be able to help him control himself for now, but that won’t always be the case,” he looked at her again, like he actually did give a crap. “I’m also going to suggest he take anger management courses, as they may help him to better control himself in the future, or if none of you are available to calm him down.”_

_She just sniffed before nodding, taking my paw as we walked out._

I couldn’t get the taste of Wyatt’s blood out of my mouth. No matter how many times I gulped water from the lake I’d collapsed next to or spit it out, it was still there, burning down my throat to my stomach. I’d finally gotten enough breath to react when he’d pointed that gun at me, kicking his arm just as he’d pulled the trigger. The shot had gone wide, but he hadn’t let go of it, the last of the cool leaving his eyes as I’d gotten up, ripping the tazer prongs from my shoulder.

I could still hear myself growling at him, smell the fear that had started pouring off of him as I’d stalked closer, crouching low on all fours. Andrew had taken one last look at me before hightailing it, whoever had been behind me doing the same, both of them screaming their heads off. Most of the color had faded from the world as I’d zeroed in on Wyatt, the part of my brain I’d never be able to fully control ordering me to do one thing.

 _Kill! Kill the threat! KILL!_  

I’d leapt at him, knocking him on his back, my teeth tearing into whatever part of him had been closest. I’d started jerking my head around, his screams driving me on as I’d ripped him up. But then someone else had started, and I’d froze, looking up to see Jack staring at me. The disbelief and terror on his face had snapped me out of it enough to let go, to back away when he’d started getting up, taking off when he’d stepped toward me. My tail tucked itself back between my legs as I thought about it, tears running down my face as I stared at myself in the water. I’d lost control before, more than once to the point where I’d hurt someone, but it had never come out like that, where I’d actually…

 _No!_ I threw myself back from the water. That hadn’t happened. I was sure I’d heard Wyatt moaning as I’d run off, I hadn’t killed him!

_But you wanted to…by God, you wanted to…_

I’d be lying to myself if I said I hadn’t, after hearing everything he’d done, seeing him turn members of his own family against each other. What the hell kind of monster did that? I shuddered, getting as far from the lake as I could, curling up under a tree and throwing my tail over my face. I was always exhausted after those spells wore off, and all I wanted right now was to pass out, hopefully long enough for me to starve to death.

“Nick?”

My ears flicked at the voice, worried, coming closer. “Nick, where are you?”

I didn’t answer, staying low on all fours, my gut tightening when Judy’s scent hit me.

_No, anything but that!_

I got ready to bolt when she pushed through some grass, looking so relieved when she saw me.

“Oh, Nick,” she smiled, sniffling. “Thank God, I’ve been—”

I took off, speeding up every time she called out behind me. I didn’t know where I was going, and I didn’t care, I just wanted to get away from her. I had to.

“N-Nick, wait!” she sounded tired, her words slurring a bit as her steps faltered. The tranq Wyatt had hit her with hadn’t even worn off yet, and she already out here looking for me, but why the hell would she want to?

“Go away, Judy!” I yelled over my shoulder, my voice tinged with a growl. Her scent thickened as she chased me, and I was terrified it would drag me right back down. “Y-You can’t be near me anymore!”

Her stagger was getting worse, tears spilling down her face as she reached for me.

“N-Nick, please!” she stumbled to a stop, her chest heaving as her crying got worse. “Y-You don’t have to be alone in this, I-I lo-aaaAAHH!”

I slid to a stop when she dropped out of sight, her scream cutting off with a grunt, before it was completely silent.

“No!” I took off, racing to where she’d vanished. “Judy!”

I barely managed to stop at the edge, panting as I stared into the ravine, Judy lying by a stump at the bottom of it. My heart jumped to my throat when I realized she wasn’t moving, and I slid down to her, not caring about the rocks and sticks that cut me, my side burning when I finally stopped. I didn’t care, dropping to my knees next to her, my paws hovering as I looked her over. She was bleeding in a few spots, her clothes torn and grass-stained. The worst of it was her ankle, already swelling, her skin discolored through her fur. I sighed in relief when she moaned, her face twisting in pain as she cracked her eyes open.

“N-Nick?” she tried to move, biting her lip as she sucked a breath through her teeth. “Sweet cheese and crackers…”

“I know, you took quite a fall,” I looked around, grabbing some thicker sticks before kneeling by her feet, pulling my old neckerchief from my pocket. “This is going to hurt, probably a lot, but I should at least stabilize it a bit before trying to take you home.”

She winced, pulling her foot away and glaring at me.

“I-I wouldn’t _be_ in this situation if you had just l-listened,” she gasped again when I lifted her leg, laying the bandana under it. “W-Why’d you keep running off like that?” 

My ears went flat against my head, and I turned away.

“I-I just didn’t want you to see me,” I somehow managed. “N-Not after what I did to…”

“Nick,” she breathed sharply as she pushed herself up. “E-Eric, Andrew and Jack told me what happened. My uncle attacked and provoked you, it’s not your fault what happened to him.”

She looked at me.

“But it is kind of weird you didn’t realize what was happening sooner, what was going on there?”

I shrugged, taking her paws and guiding them to the sticks, set on either side of her leg.

“Just keep these still, I’ll take care of the rest,” I started wrapping the cloth, hating her whimper when I tightened it. “And I guess I was too focused on what he was saying, I didn’t really pay attention to what else was going on.”

I tied it off, groaning as I got to my feet. I rubbed the spot where he’d kicked me, thinking my ribs were at least bruised, if not fractured. I hadn’t even noticed that pain until now.

“But you sure got him back for it,” she smirked a bit. “You mostly just got his shirt, but you tore up his chest enough that he’ll hopefully think twice before trying to screw with mammals again.”

Relief flooded me as I stared down at her. I hadn’t ripped Wyatt’s throat out, I hadn’t killed him!

“Oh, thank God,” I slumped to my knees. “T-That’s what I’ve been terrified of, Carrots. As much trouble as he’s been, the last thing I wanted to do was…”

I trailed off when she grabbed my paw, her smirk fading as she crawled toward me.

“Jack said that wasn’t the first time something like that’s happened to you,” she sounded hurt, and I couldn’t blame her. “And that it was also why he left the group.”

She sat next to me, holding my paw in her lap. When she looked up, her eyes were bright with tears again.

“Nick, what’s going on with you?”

I hesitated, deciding it was long past time I’d told her. I shoved out a breath, squeezing her paw, not meeting her gaze.

“The truth, Judy, is I don’t need some drug to go savage,” I got up and walked away, keeping my back to her. My fists clenched as anger coursed through me. “I never have.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone’s curious, Nick’s about ten in that flashback with his mom. He got his collar when he was eleven and Fin, who would’ve just turned seven, died when he was twelve.  
> Oh, and Tony’s three years older than Nick, don’t think I ever mentioned the actual age gap between them.


	12. Chapter 12

“W-W-What?” it was all she’d been able to say, and I couldn’t blame her. “H-How is that possible? _What_?!”

I shook my head.

“Well, not exactly savage, not in the way Trevor and the others have,” I swallowed, and finally turned back to her. “It’s something I was born with. My ‘primal’ instincts are a lot harder to ignore than they should be, and if I get too stressed or freaked out, there’s not much I can do to keep them from taking over.”

I walked over and sat next to her.

“I’ve always been able to come back from it, though, as long as I had someone familiar to focus on,” I took her paw, smiling at her. “Like the bunny I love.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Sweet talking won’t get you out of this,” she crossed her arms. “So, what’s your excuse for keeping me in the dark about this?”

She was using her ‘cop voice’, a tone that about made me piss myself the first time I heard it. I gulped, rubbing the back of my neck.

“I-It’s because…” my paw clamped in my fur. It felt like I was choking, but there was no more hiding it. I sighed. “I knew you wouldn’t want anything to do with me when you found out, you’d just think I was a freak like everyone else.”

I turned away again, not wanting her to see the tears in my eyes. That was when I noticed it, my ears perking as I took a deep breath. That smell, all the way out here?

_It can’t be…_

I got up, following my nose to a break in some bushes, a narrow dirt path no one would find unless they were looking for it.

“Nick?” Carrots got on her knees, her nose twitching as she leaned on her paws. “W-What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” I held up a paw. “But you’d better stay here, you can’t exactly run with that ankle.”

She looked at me before nodding, crawling back to the stump and tucking herself against it.

“Be careful, okay?”

I flashed a smile.

“You can count on it.”

The first thing I saw was a crooked fence made of scrap wood, and it looked like it’d been there for years. The wind was carrying that smell over it, and I still couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Hey, Carrots,” I went back to her. She was sitting by the stump, turned away from me, her ears up and flicking in all directions. I moved as quietly as I could, trying not to laugh when she squeaked as I swept her up.

“You’re lucky my foot’s out of commission, Wilde,” she glared at me. “How many times have I told you not to scare me like that?!”

I chuckled.

“I lost count, but you know it won’t stop me,” I kissed the top of her head. “I just have to show you something.”

I brought her back to the fence, keeping my paws on her hips when I set her on one of the thicker posts.

“The same smell from the docks and Fru’s wedding is all over this place,” I explained. “I want to know if it looks familiar to you at all.”

“Huh?” she looked around, her paws tightening on my wrists when she glanced over her shoulder. She gasped, her eyes going wide. “Oh God…”

I followed her stare, my jaw dropping when I saw them: six petals, solid purple, bringing back memories, nightmares I’d spent years forcing myself to forget.

_“Go on, crybaby,” Tony and his friends were laughing, shoving the flower in my face. “Just eat it!”_

_I stared at them, my nose twitching when the flower touched it. It was pretty, but it smelled funny, almost stinky. I shook my head and tried to crawl away, but I was stuck by a wall._

_“I don’t want it, Tony,” I said. He just laughed again._

_“I don’t care. I’m your big brother, Nicky, so you_ have _to do what I tell you,” he shoved it in my face again. “And I’m telling you to eat this!”_

_My ears drooped. Mommy and Daddy had brought me home three years ago, why did Tony still hate me? I sniffled._

_“Fine,” I grabbed it and bit off half the petals. It tasted as funny as it smelled. Then Mommy came in._

_“Nicky?” she gasped when she saw the flower. I dropped it when I started shaking, curling up on the floor when my tummy started hurting. “Nicky!”_

“Nick? Nick!”

I gasped, the pain in Carrots’ voice finally snapping me out of it. I looked to see my claws had dug into her hips, relief flooding me when I saw I hadn’t cut her. I gulped, burying my nose in her neck, feeling her arms wrap around my head.

“Oh, Nick,” she choked, and I felt tears hit my fur. “Y-You poor fox…”

I dragged in a few more breaths filled with her scent, then pulled away, my eyes locking with hers.

“T-This is where the drug’s coming from.” I managed. “Wyatt’s been making it with these flowers!”

She blinked.

“But…my dad uses them to keep the bugs off our produce, h-how can they—”

“You have to ingest them, Carrots,” I pointed over her shoulder. “Either that, or inhale enough of the pollen. The toxin’s harmless until it gets in bloodstream, then it screws with your brain and makes you lose it.”

I picked her up, holding her close.

“Tony and his friends used to make me eat them, then say I’d gone nuts on my own, at least until Mom caught them,” I shook my head. “It usually wears off in an hour or so, but the pills and darts are obviously pretty concentrated since everyone hit by them is still savage.”

“Is there an antidote?” she grabbed my sweatshirt. “A-Any chance of getting them all back to normal?”

“I don’t know, but either way, we’ll have to tell the Chief about this,” I reached in my pocket, remembering I’d left my phone in our room. Crap. “You don’t happen to have your phone on you, do you?”

“No,” her ears twitched, then fell back down. “I-I woke up to Andrew and Eric talking about what’d happened, and as soon as I could move, I was running out the door to look for you.”

She hugged me.

“And Wyatt broke my recorder pen,” she went on. “So we can’t get a direct confession from him, but statements from you, Jack, Andrew and Eric should be more than enough.”

She turned back to the field, her voice hardening.

“We should also pick some of those, in case some kind of ‘accident’ happens later.”

I nodded, setting her back on the fence.

“Good idea,” I vaulted over it, heading for the closest patch of flowers. This was either a wild field, or they’d just been planted so it looked like one. I held my breath as I gathered a pawful, since I knew just how much pollen it took to lose it, and shoved them in my pocket. I stared out over it, my gut tightening when I saw how many there were, realized how many more victims there might have been. I went back to the fence and climbed over, but I couldn’t return the smile Carrots had on her face. There was something about all of this that just didn’t fit.

“Wyatt couldn’t have been the only one behind this,” I picked her up and started toward the road. “Most of the victims are _Savage Wilde_ fans, and he had no idea who I was until you told him.”

She nodded, laying her head on my shoulder. She already looked exhausted.

“He must have been hired by whoever’s _really_ behind this, we just have to find a way to make him crack,” she looked up at the side of the ravine, even more steep than it had looked from the top. “Uh, are you sure you can climb that?”

“Yeah,” I knelt and set her down, turning my back to her. “But it’d be easier if I had both paws, think you can hang on for that long?”

A few seconds passed before I felt her arms around my neck, and she nodded into my shoulder.

“I’ll try, but now that the tranq’s wearing off, I’m in a lot more pain,” she shifted her foot, then hissed. “Please tell me this will be quick…”

I squeezed her paws, then got on all fours and started climbing.

“I’ll go as fast as I can without knocking you around too much,” I grunted when my foot slipped. “Just try to think about something else.”

She nodded again, her face still buried in my back. She was pretty light to me by now, but my ribs and gut still ached from Wyatt’s beating, and I also had to worry about making sure she didn’t fall. She came close a couple times, but managed to hold on until we got to the top, and she slid to the ground with a long sigh.

“Oh, thank God…” she watched as I stood, avoiding my sweatshirt pocket as I brushed myself off. The last thing I wanted was to risk getting any more of that crazy pollen on it.

“Hope you know your way home from here, Carrots,” I picked her up, letting her recline in my arms. “Because I was pretty much running blind.”

She nodded.

“I know every inch of Bunnyburrow,” she pointed the way she’d chased me. “We’re only a couple miles from the farm, and there’s plenty of shortcuts. And Nick?”

She wrapped her arms around my neck, not giving me time to ask before she kissed me. I tightened my hold on her, hearing her moan when my tongue met hers.

“I love you, Nick, so, so much,” she was beaming when she pulled back. “And we did it, we finally did it!”

I smiled.

“I love you, too, Judy,” I kissed her nose, chuckling when it twitched. “And hell, yeah, we did!”

* * *

“You’re lucky it’s a just a sprain,” Savage finished with the splint. We were sitting on one of the long-ass couches in their living room, Carrots lying between us as he worked on her. “Even if it is a pretty bad one. Nick did a good job stabilizing it, too.”

He sat back, and even I had a hard time facing the look he gave her.

“With the way you fell, it could’ve been a lot worse.”

She nodded, leaning back against my chest. She’d grabbed the first phone saw when we got back to the farm, and it had been hard to miss the catch in her voice as she’d told Bogo everything had done. Then she’d put him on speaker, letting me, Jack and Eric have our say. Andrew and Wyatt had split after I’d run off, the rest of the Hopps either looking for them, or keeping the youngest kids out of the danger zone. The flowers had been sealed in one of the evidence Carrots always seemed to have lying around, my sweatshirt stuffed in a paper bag she’d stapled shut.

“Thanks for the help, Jack,” she winced a bit when she smiled, then looked up at me. “How are you doing, Nick?”

I shrugged, something my beat up side did not like. I hadn’t realized I’d slid down the ravine on the same side Wyatt had ground up, my skin scraped raw and purple under my fur.

“I won’t lie, it hurts, but it’s not the worst I’ve been through,” that sure as hell was the truth. I turned to Jack. “So, how long will Officer Fluff here be out of commission?”

He glared at her again.

“Eight to twelve weeks, but we’ll be lucky if she stays down three days.”

Carrots huffed, crossing her arms.

“That’s because you always make way too big a deal out of this,” she argued. “It’s just a little sprain!”

He growled, and I figured it wasn’t this first time they’d had this argument.

“It is _not_ ‘just a little sprain’, Judy,” he snapped. “Your ankle was almost completely dislocated!”

She rolled her eyes.

“So what? I’m a fast healer, Jack, you know that,” she scoffed. “I’ll probably only need three weeks at the m—”

I put a paw over her mouth, staring down at her.

“She’ll be down for the eight weeks, at least, I’ll make sure of it,” I smirked when she glowered at me, taking my paw away when she tried biting me.

“You’re supposed to be on _my_ side, Nick!”

“I am,” I wrapped my arms around her, starting to wonder where her mom was with that compress she’d gone to find for me. “I’m going to make sure you don’t do anything stupid and end up in a cast, or worse.”

I nuzzled her forehead, chuckling when she groaned like an embarrassed kit.

“You’ll just have to put that stubborn pride down for a while, Fluff,” I smirked. “I’m not budging on this.”

“Neither am I,” Savage crossed his arms. “You need to start taking these things seriously, Jude, you won’t always be able to bounce right back from them.”

She huffed.

“You’re sounding like Mom again, Jack,” she actually sneered. “You sure sports medicine was the best option? Preschools need nurses, too, you know.”

We both gawked at her, that was pretty much the last thing I’d expected.

“Now hold on a sec, Carrots—”

“Save it, Nick,” she shoved away from me, gasping sharply when she tried to get up, then fell back in my lap. “Sweet cheese and crackers…”

“See what I mean?” he crossed his arms again, looking smug. “You’ll just be causing yourself more damage if you try and walk on it, which means it’ll take even longer to heal.”

His smirk fell, and he leaned forward.

“So unless you want to be stuck with a limp the rest of your life, I suggest you get your head out of your ass and _listen_ to me for once.”

She tried staring him down, and when that she didn’t work, she looked up at me, flashing her ‘kicked baby’ face.

“Nice try, Fluff,” I tapped her nose with mine. “But like I said, I’m not budging on this.”

She rolled her eyes again, muttering to herself as she turned away and leaned back against me. I chuckled, taking her shoulders, and it didn’t take her long to chill when I started rubbing them. Savage cleared his throat.

“So, uh, how much longer until the cops get here?”

She barely opened one eye long enough to glance at the clock on the wall, carrot-themed, of course.

“About an hour and a half, at least; I’m actually surprised they listened,” she squirmed a bit. “Could you go a bit lower, Slick? I’ve got an itch right…ah, right there!”

I laughed, letting my claws trail along her back by her tail. He shook his head.

“Ugh, you guys are too much,” he shoved his crap in his backpack, then threw it over his shoulder. “Why wouldn’t they have listened?”

She rubbed her paws together, staring at her feet.

“It wasn’t exactly a big success last time we called them out here, and that was yesterday.”

I wrapped my arms around her.

“We still helped take some crooks down,” I reminded her. “And now the lab coats will finally have what they need to finish the antidote. They’ll be able to—”

“No!” she hit my thigh with the side of her fist. “That’s not good enough, Nick! We still have no idea who’s actually behind this, so there’s nothing stopping them from doing it again!”

She turned to me, her eyes full of tears.

“I-It doesn’t matter _what_ we found today, Nick, we still failed!” she sniffled. “A-All those mammals counting on us, we still let them down!”

She curled up against my chest, burying her face in my chest, I hadn’t bothered grabbing another shirt from our room. I hugged her tightly, ignoring my pain as I kissed the top of her head.

“We’ll get there, Judy, it’s just going to take time,” I smoothed a paw down her arm. “Spots told me drug devisions all over the city are working overtime to hunt down Baby Blues dealers and get them off the streets. We’ve locked up the source, it won’t be much longer now.”

I knew she didn’t believe me, I sure as hell didn’t, but it was the only thing I could think of to calm her down. She sniffed, drying her eyes in my fur before looking up at me again. I sighed.

“We really need to get you some tissues,” I said, playing it up. “My fur’s dry-clean only!”

She giggled, just what I’d been going for. Jack groaned.

“You guys are too much,” he hitched his shoulder, grabbing the strap. “Just make sure she stays down the next couple months, Nick, or at least takes it easy.”

I threw up a mock salute, making Carrots giggle again.

“You got it, boss!”

He rolled his eyes, stopping by the door to let their mom through before heading out. She watched him leave, then turned to us, looking nervous.

“Mrs. Hopps?” I straightened as much as I could with Carrots using me as a pillow. “Everything okay?”

She messed with the compress, almost half as big as she was. How much trouble did these bunnies get into?

“Well, yes and no,” she took Jack’s place on the couch. “I’ve actually been wanting to talk to you two, alone.”

Carrots took the compress, sitting on my leg so she could hold it to my side. Besides the three of us, the room was empty.

“I guess now’s as good a time as any,” I put an arm around Judy’s shoulders. “What’s going on?”

Mrs. Hopps hesitated, then got right to the point.

“I need to know if all the talk I’ve been hearing is true,” she focused on me. “Nicolas, are you in a relationship with my daughter?”

“Yes,” I tightened my hold on her. “For about two months now.”

“And no, he didn’t force me,” she glared at her mom. “I was the one who started, once we _both_ realized what was happening between us.”

Her voice hitched.

“And you can do whatever you want to me: ban me from the farm, disown me, but I’m never leaving him,” she kissed my cheek. “I love him, Mom.”

Her mom smiled a bit, then shook her head.

“I know, honey, a blind mammal wouldn’t have any trouble seeing that,” she smoothed some fur on her cheek, then cleared her throat. “I’m afraid it’s just hard for a lot of us to understand.”

“And I get that,” I said. “I know this isn’t a common thing, but I can promise this isn’t just some ‘try anything’ crap. I’ve never cared about anyone the way I do about Judy.”

I tilted her head back and smiled at her.

“And I plan on proving that to her for as long as I can.”

She sniffed, wiping her eyes with a big grin on her face.

“I promise you the same thing, Nick,” she put a paw over mine. “And I’ll always be there for you, no matter what.”

Her mom sighed again, and actually looked jealous.

“It’s obvious you two have something special,” she got up. “And I can promise my support, but your father, I’m afraid…”

Carrots groaned.

“I guess I can’t fault him too much for that,” she shook her head. “Not after what happened with Jimmy, Carla and Kelsey.”

Her mom cringed, then shook her head.

“I’ll talk to him when the boys are done with their search, but I’m sure he’ll want to speak with you two himself. Speaking of which,” she cleared her throat. “Why don’t you go and join them, Nick? The girls and I can keep an eye on Judy while she helps us with the little ones.”

I dragged a breath through my teeth.

“I don’t think that’d be the best idea,” I rubbed my side. “It hurts just sitting here right now, I doubt I’d be able to walk for long.”

I looked at Carrots, hitting me full-force with her ‘kicked baby’ face.

“She’s not supposed to walk much, either,” I kissed her forehead. “Or really put any weight on her leg at all the next few weeks.”

Mrs. Hopps nodded.

“There’s plenty of jobs that’ll keep you both sitting, and we have plenty of painkillers if either of you need them,” she gave Judy one of those looks only a mom could manage. “And if she does try to make a run for it, I’ll just have to leash her to the sink like I did when she was a kit.”

Carrots groaned, loudly, flopping her bright red ears over her face and holding them there.

“I promise I’ll stay sitting,” she whined. “Just, please, don’t bring out the leash!”

Her mom laughed.

“I’m sure you’d let Nick bring out the leash…”*

We just stared at her as she left, chuckling the whole time.

* * *

  _Should’ve expected this…_

The cops from Precinct One had finally shown up, half combing through the field for anything Carrots and I might have missed, the rest helping the Hopps family track down Andrew and Wyatt, since Eric and already turned himself in. So far, either team was having much luck, which didn’t surprise me. What had were all the news vans that had pulled up to the house, the group of animals at the porch split between preds and prey. I sighed, letting go of the curtain I’d been looking past and turned back to the living room.

“Looks like we can’t avoid them any longer.”

Carrots was still on the couch, glaring at the crutches her mom had set by the wall, holding a ball of pink yarn the size of her head. I wondered just how long her mom had been working on that blanket. “Just wish I knew how they all got wind of it so quickly.”

Carrots shrugged.

“I’m more surprised we haven’t had to deal with this until now, they did an amazing job keeping things under wraps,” she tried getting up, Mrs. Hopps grabbing her shoulder and pushing her back down.

“You’re not going anywhere without those crutches, young lady,” she said, rolling her eyes when Carrots groaned. “Now don’t start with that, you’re lucky I’m not making you use a wheelchair again.”

It was hard not to laugh at the terrified look on Carrots’ face, how she just sat there as Mrs. Hopps rolled up the blanket, taking the yarn before heading to another part of the house. Carrots sighed, crossing her arms and slumping against the arm of the couch.

“It took me _forever_ to get in shape for the academy,” she slapped her paws over her eyes. “I don’t even want to think how long it’ll take to come back from this!”

I rolled my eyes, then sat next to her.

“It’s a couple months, Fluff, not a year or two,” I dragged a claw up her leg when she threw her feet in my lap, holding back a grunt of pain when I leaned in to kiss her forehead. The compress had helped, and so had the aspirin her mom had brought when she’d come back with the crutches, but I’d had enough bruised ribs over the years to know nothing ever numbed it completely. “And you know I’ll be here for you the whole time.”

She smiled, but it didn’t last long.

“Of course I know that, Slick,” she said. “I’m just not used to being laid up like this. And we’ve come so far in this case, I was hoping we’d get to see it through to the end.”

I sighed.

“I’m sure there’ll still be _something_ for us to do,” I was fishing in the air and we both knew it. “I mean, we found the original victims, and what’s been making them go savage, even if we don’t exactly know ‘why’ yet.”

I shrugged.

“I doubt they’d leave us out just because we’re injured.”

She shook her head.

“ _We_ only got this far because of _you_ , Nick,” she stared at me. “If it hadn’t been for _your_ connections, _your_ skills and _your_ knowledge of the city, we’d still be looking at predators losing their minds and disappearing for no reason.”

She bit her lip, and a blind mammal could’ve told she was holding back tears.

“A-And I was still ready to keep you off this case, even if meant arresting you for jaywalking,” she shook her head again, harder than before. “I-I was so determined to prove I didn’t need anyone’s help to do this job, but you and everyone else I know just keeps proving me wrong!”

I’d never seen her like this before, so scared and vulnerable, and seeing it now tore me to shreds. I slid off the couch when she threw herself down, sobbing into the pillow she’d been leaning against, kneeling by her head and stroking her ears. I grabbed her fist when she started slamming it against the corner of the frame peeking through the torn upholstery.

“Beating up yourself, or the furniture, isn’t going to fix anything, Fluff,” I picked her up as I got back to my feet. “And I was only able to that because I had you and the rest of the gang behind me. I never would’ve gotten past all that on my own.”

She sniffled, looking up at me as I sat down, holding her close.

“You are an amazing bunny, Judy,” I’d never get tired of saying it. “You’re the most driven mammal I’ve ever known, and you’ve never let anyone stand in your way. So many animals look up to you, including me.”

I smirked.

“You’re also brave, generous, loyal and one hell of a kisser.”

She snorted, just what I’d been going for.

“Now you’re just copying me,” she giggled. “You lazy fox.”

I shrugged.

“So what? It’s still true,” I tapped her nose with mine. “You really are incredible, Judy, and don’t let _anyone_ tell you otherwise.”

I kissed her, both of us freezing at a loud, wet sniff.

“Oh cripes, here come the waterworks!”

Her dad was slumped in the doorway, openly bawling. She groaned, her head falling on my shoulder.

“Sweet cheese and crackers,” she dragged a paw down her face. “Again, Dad, really?”

“S-Sorry,” he kept sobbing. “T-That was just so beautiful!”

It took him a while to get it under control, then he tried to act like the fit hadn’t happened.

“But that still won’t get you out of this talk,” he sat on the edge of the coffee table, holding his paws in front of him.

“I won’t lie and say I’ve never had a problem with foxes, son,” he focused on me. “Our history isn’t exactly a good one, and one of the biggest bullies while Jude was growing up happened to be one.”

I didn’t know where he was going with this, but figured it’d be better to just let him talk.

“I thought you were the exception to the rule, Nick, because you’d been raised by prey, but after hearing what you’ve done for my daughter, and mammals in general, I realized I was wrong. However,” he held up a paw, just when I’d started feeling relieved. “That doesn’t mean I approve of your relationship. Even an old buck like me knows about your…reputation, Nick.”

My tail frizzed, my ears going flat against my head. I should’ve known all that shit would come back to bite me.

“And there are so many eligible rabbits out there, Jude,” he went on before I could say anything. “And none of your sisters have had a problem with the bucks we’ve picked out for them.”

Carrots’ paw tightened on my sweats, and I could all but hear her teeth grinding.

“Those bucks only want one thing,” she started slowly. “For me to give up my dream and start having their kits as soon and often as possible.”

She breathed hard through her nose.

“But a quiet life on a farm is _never_ what I wanted, you and Mom know that!” her voice shook. “Yet you’ve done nothing but discourage me, ever since I said I wanted to be a cop in that play, you even tried to marry me off when you heard I’d been accepted to the academy!”

She was barely keeping the tears back. I squeezed her paw, showing she had at least one mammal on her side. Her dad scoffed.

“And just look what’s happened since then,” he ticked them off on his fingers. “You nearly died a hundred times in that place, you’ve been locked up and had mammals threaten to _feed_ you to savage preds,” he dropped his paw, his eyes narrowing to slits. “And now I hear you’ve _rutted_ a male you’re not married to, and under my own roof! That is _not_ how we raised you, Judy!”

He jumped to his feet, and I couldn’t stop myself from drawing back.

“So, you can either stop whatever you think you have with him, or you can say goodbye to being welcome on this farm, _or_ part of this family!”

He was panting when he finished, his fists shaking at his sides. I don’t know how long we sat there staring at each other, but it felt like years had passed when I finally opened my mouth, my whole world cracking as I thought what I was about to say.

“No.”

Carrots’ voice was soft, calm and even, and I didn’t need to see her face to know she had the coldest look possible on it.

“I already told Mom, you can ban me from the farm, disown me, but I am _never_ going to leave Nick, I’m done with letting this family try and control me,” she pushed away from me, got on her knees and faced me. She grabbed my snout, dragging me down, her scent exploding when she started rubbing her chin on my head. I grabbed her waist when she finished, dragging my cheeks across hers, loving the bright smile on her face when I finished. She kissed me, and it wasn’t until she’d ended it that I even remembered her dad was still in the room.

“I love our whole family, I always will,” she turned back to him, slack-jawed and wide-eyed as he stared at us. “But if some of the most important mammals in my life can’t accept who I’ll likely spend the rest of it with, then maybe it _is_ time I left them behind.”

Part of me couldn’t believe what I was hearing, that she was willing to cut out such a big part of her life just to be with me, but then I saw the sly look on her face as she glanced at her dad. He looked like he was about to faint, and it took a while for his sputtering to turn into actual words.

“N-Now hold on a minute there, Jude…”

She smirked, then kissed me again.

_It’s called a hustle, sweetheart._

* * *

 Talking to a crowd of reporters was the last thing Carrots or I wanted to deal with right now, but there wasn’t any way to get around it now. Even with the crutches, and being as used to them as I’m sure she was, she still leaned against me to keep her balance, her paws shaking from how hard she was trying not to throw them at the wall. I looked down at her.

“You ready to do this, Fluff?”

She swallowed, then shook her head.

“Nope,” she pushed closer to me. “Let’s do it.”

I pushed the door open before I could think twice about it, my ears going flat when the last hour’s background noise blasted to full volume. As I’d expected, the crowd was split right down the middle between preds and prey.

“Officer Hopps! Officer Hopps!” a squirrel jumped onto the porch railing before we’d even reached it, flipping open a notepad. “Nigel Swift of _ZNN_ , and were you aware of your uncle’s actions? Why did it take you so long to start investigating him?”

I kept my arm around Carrots’ shoulders, knowing she needed it as much as I did. She glanced at me, then gulped, her nervous smile dropping when she turned back to him.

“D-Did I know what my uncle was doing? No, I didn’t, but if I had, I can assure you even that wouldn’t have stopped me from bringing him in.”

He scribbled it down, tucked the pad in his pocket and scurried back to the crowd. An elephant waved her trunk, the ground shaking as she came forward, holding out a microphone the size of the Hopps family truck.

“Abigail Trunkton, _The Daily Z,_ ” she started. “Your uncle holds doctorates for both biochemistry _and_ toxicology, do you have any ides why he’d decide to use those skills to hurt mammals?”

Carrots didn’t hesitate.

“He is a scared, closed-minded mammal who’s trapped in the past. He let that fear control him to the point that he thought he could play with their lives and get away with it,” she swallowed, her voice getting tight. “And I can only hope that no one else is foolish enough to follow in his footsteps, because they _will_ be caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, no matter _what_ species or class they are.”

Several on the prey side clamored as the elephant stepped back, but she focused on the pred side, pointing to a white paw that kept coming up near the middle.

“Yes, you, in the center!”

An arctic fox pushed through, stumbling when the lion behind her shoved her forward. She barely seemed to notice, and I wondered just how often that happened to her.

“Skye Winters, _Tundra Town Key-In,_ and this question is for you, Mr. Wilde,” she held out a recorder. “Have you found anything further on the connection between these attacks and your past, or even _why_ your past factors into it?”

That shut the whole crowd up. Everyone leaned forward, paws and hooves ready to get down or record anything I said. I gulped, closing my eyes as I shoved the memories back.

“In answer to your first question, yes we have. The drug was created from a flower commonly known as a Night Howler. My older brother would make me eat them,” I went on. “In order to make me go savage, likely so our parents would see how dangerous I was and give me up.”

I dragged my paws through my hair, hooking them on the back of my neck.

“As for _why_ my past has anything to do with this, well, I’m afraid we haven’t figured that out yet, and there’s a good chance we might not.”

I couldn’t miss the look in her icy blue eyes as they darted over me, her nose wrinkling before she focused back on my face.

“And is it also true that you and another fox were adopted by a wealthy prey couple,” she started. “More specifically, the mob-affiliated zebras, the Constantines?”

I froze, my tail thumping against Carrots’ crutch. Another fox came forward, this time a cape.

“Bethany Saide, _Sahara Square News;_ my sources tell me your birth parents were also involved with the mafia, Mr. Wilde, specifically, the Big family,” she held out her microphone. “Is also true that you’re his godson, and that _he_ was the one who got you adopted by the Constantines?”

A shiver went down my back. ‘Sources’ or not, how the hell could they have gotten all this? I dragged in a breath, no point in lying now.

“Yes, that’s all true,” my voice was a lot calmer than I felt. A wave of gasps went through both sides. “And since I’m sire what your next question will be, yes, I was involved with the mob myself, from about thirteen until I was twenty-two.”

Of course, that had just been the official stuff. I felt a paw on my side, looking to see Carrots smiling at me. It took a lot, but I managed to smile back.

“Any other questions you want to get out of your systems before we get back on topic?” my eyes narrowed as I turned back to the crowd. “Better hurry, because I won’t make this offer twice.”

Skye waved a paw again.

“Just one more,” she glanced at Carrots, then back to me. “I’m sure I’m not the only one who can smell that you’ve marked each other, so I’m assuming the rumors about your romantic relationship are true?”

I didn’t hesitate, a real smile crossing my face.

“Yes, it’s true,” I pulled Judy closer to me. “I’m in love with Officer Judy Hopps.”

She gripped the paw I had on her shoulder, her eyes glowing when she faced the reporters.

“And I’m in love with punk star Nick Wilde,” she glared at the prey side. “And before any of you ask, he didn’t force me into anything. He just hustled me into letting him assist on this case, and I thank God every day that he did.”

She looked at me again.

“Because without him, and the rest of _Savage Wilde,_ I _never_ would have been able to solve this case,” she pulled my arm closer around her. “And now I hope he’ll never leave my side.”

I leaned in and kissed her, ignoring the new surge of questions and gasps that came from it.

“Nothing you say or do could keep me away, Judy,” I said quietly. “I’ve already promised you that.”

I kissed her again, then straightened, glaring at the reporters. Daring any of them to say something. After some awkward, silent shuffling, a pig raised her hoof.

“Tammy Willis, the _Savanna Central Times,_ ” she tapped her pen against her pad. “Are either of you aware that the third member of the band and two of Mr. Wilde’s staff have gone savage since you left Zootopia?”

I stopped cold, dread coursing through me as her words sank in.

“ _What?!_ ”

* * *

 I was doing at least 110 the whole way back to the city, Judy too busy making phone calls to notice. Even if she had, I doubt she would’ve tried too hard to make me slow down. I set the cruise control when my foot started falling asleep, keeping an eye on the road as I glanced at her.

“Mrs. King, please, calm down,” she was talking to Trevor and Paul’s mom. I couldn’t really hear what Saisan was saying, but it was hard to miss how much she was crying. “Just take a deep breath and try to tell me what happened.”

She was quiet for a while, her nose twitching as she listened, her good foot starting to thump against the seat. After a few minutes, the call cut off.

“Carrot sticks,” she shook her phone. “Lost the signal.”

She sighed, dropping it in the cup holder.

“Just as well, I guess, I couldn’t really understand what she was saying.”

She slumped back in the seat, wincing when her ankle caught the edge.

“But I think the gist of it was she and Paul ran into Ed and Rocco yesterday, and they decided to get lunch together,” she shivered, leaned forward and turned off the AC. “They go to some pred place downtown, she goes to the bathroom, and by the time she gets back, the boys have gone crazy.”

She swallowed.

“Wolfard called me right after we started back,” she went on. “He and Fangmeyer were on patrol in the same area and heard the crowd starting to panic. They managed to sedate Paul and the others, but not before Ed attacked a hyena. Last they heard, she was in critical condition, but she’s expected to make a full recovery.”

I sighed in relief, at least there was that.

“And now that we’ve found the Night Howlers, they can finally finish the antidote,” I flipped off the cruise control, slowing down as the city came into sight. “How much longer until the rest of the cops are done processing the farm?”

She shrugged, grabbing her phone when it rang.

“Hard to say, but it should be some time before dark,” she accepted the call. “Hello?…Yes, I’m sorry Nick and I just disappeared, Chief, but…Wait, what? You did? When? ”

She listened a few seconds, then gasped, and I didn’t like the sound of it.

“Yes, I-I understand…Y-Yes, sir…I’ll tell him…” her breath hitched, and I smelled tears. “Yes, t-thank you, sir…Goodbye.”

She stared at her phone after the call ended, her paw shaking when she set it back in the cup holder. She wasn’t even trying to hold the tears back.

“I take it that was bad news?”

She gulped, then nodded, rubbing her eyes with her arm.

“T-They found Wyatt and Andrew,” she started, her voice breaking. “J-Just past the edge of our land…”

She sniffled, then choked on it.

“J-Just as Wyatt shot him!”

* * *

  _“This is a complete crock of shit you got us into, mate!”_

_Quincy and I ducked down on either side of the door, staying out of sight until the bullet storm flying at us cooled down. His parents had flown him in from Sydney to live with his aunt and uncle, a pair of cops they hoped would ‘put him on the right track’. The puma hadn’t even made it downtown before getting into trouble._

_I glared at him, my ears flat against my head to dull out the firefight._

_“You think I don’t know that?!”_

_I’d never thought the Northside Eagles would be stupid enough to show their ugly mugs around here, an arcade smack in the middle of White Dragons territory. But someone had apparently squealed that I’d be here, and now Quincy and I were stuck behind the games we’d been playing._

Not exactly how I wanted to spend my sixteenth, _I couldn’t stop a shiver from cutting through me._ Tate _was going to kill me for this, if these bozos didn’t do it first._

_I glanced around, seeing a bunch of other mammals huddled up in the dark by the back wall, the staff cowering with the youngest kids behind the snack and prize counters, just trying to keep out of range. All their lives were in danger now, and all because of me. How could I have been so fucking stupid?_

_“We have to end this_ now _, Quincy!” I dug into the big pocket on my leg, pulling out one of the spare mags I kept there._

Damn it, last one, _I ejected the spent one and shoved this one in._ Better make these shots count!

_I crawled around the edge of the game when the shooting slowed down again, seeing several Eagles had stopped to reload. The front of the arcade was almost all glass, most of it lying in pieces on the floor. I knelt behind the low wall, not even bothering to aim before the recoil hit my shoulder. I ducked down when one of them howled, smirking when someone else started cursing me out._

_“You’re fucking_ dead, _Wilde! You hear me?!”_

_Part of me still cringed when I heard that name, my birth parents’ name. I’d used it since I’d started working for my godfather. I didn’t want anything to do with my adoptive family; they’d lied to me every day since they’d brought me home, every day for nine fucking years._

_“Wilde?”_

_I leaned out to take another shot, ignoring whoever had called me. I focused on the Eagles’ leader, a red fox that gave every one of us an even worse name._

_“Wilde!”_

Say goodnight, motherfucker…

“ _Wilde_!”

I jumped, my fur standing on end when I hissed. Bogo stepped back, holding out his hooves.

“Easy there, Wilde,” his voice was flat as always, but I knew I’d spooked him. He’d sure as hell spooked me. “Despite what Hopps might tell you, I’m not going to hurt you.”

It was a bad joke, but I chuckled, anyway, getting up off all fours, sitting on the edge of the horse-sized seat I’d passed out in.

“Sorry about that, Chief,” I muttered. “You just pulled me out of a bad dream.”

I’d gone straight to Whitewood once we’d reached the city, a nurse looking over Carrots after the doctor in charge had filled us in on the situation with Ed, Paul and Rocco. There’d been a hundred witnesses to back up Mrs. King’s story: they’d come in during the lunch rush and had been served by a new waitress. So new, in fact, that no one could remember seeing her before. She’d brought a round of drinks after Mrs. King had hit the bathroom, saying they were on the house. They’d spent most of the day in Sahara Square, and by the time they’d realized something was wrong, they’d already been dosed, and the waitress had split. I groaned, burying my face in my paws before dragging them through my hair.

_This is never going to stop, is it?_

I looked at the Chief, surprised when he took a seat next to me, his shoulders slumped like the whole world rested on them. Which, at the moment, wasn’t really too far from the truth.

“I take it Hopps told you what happened after you left the farm?”

I nodded, just the thought of it making me shudder. Wyatt and Andrew had been lying low in an old shed on the southern edge of the Night Howler field, where they’d set up a lab to make the darts and Baby Blues pills. The resemblance to that princess candy hadn’t been an accident, either. They’d stolen the molds and a press from a smaller factory that had shut down, just outside Bunnyburrow. Andrew had apparently been fired after starting a fire in the basement as some sick prank, then had let it go completely out of control. Wyatt had decided to kill two birds with one stone; using the darts to start causing mass hysteria toward preds, then coming in with the pills to try and get the company that had fired his son closed down for good.

Their plan had been to slip away while everyone was busy searching the rest of the farm, and after getting spotted by Pennington and another elephant, had tried to make a run for it. But by that point, they’d been surrounded. Eric and Jack had begged them to give up, but Wyatt had just pulled the same gun he’d stolen from Carrots, shooting Andrew in the gut before the buck could even start talking. He’d still been bleeding from the cuts and bites I’d given him, and had kept everyone back by waving the gun around and ranting like a screwball. Going on about how preds couldn’t be trusted because of how easily they’d fallen under the drug’s influence, that they still weren’t normal even after it had left their systems.

No one had dared to move during his rant, and the next second, they’d all been staring at two dead rabbits. One with a round in his spleen, the other with a splattered brain and shattered skull. Andrew had died just before they’d gotten him to the closest hospital. I shuddered again, knowing the Hopps family would never recover from this. Any of those things on their own was bad enough, but one after another like that? I couldn’t think of anyone who’d be able to get past it.

I turned back to Bogo, but he was focused on the doors leading to the small mammal wing of the place. An arctic hare was pushing a wheelchair, a barely conscious Judy slumped over in it. I swallowed, sliding to the floor when they got close.

“I take it she wasn’t doing well?”

The hare shook his head.

“Her ankle was just as her brother said, a severe grade two sprain, but the last few hours have been the biggest problem,” he took a tablet fro a pocket on the back of her chair. “She may not have witnessed her uncle kill himself and her cousin, but learning that and everything else he’d done was enough to send her into near-hysterics. She actually begged to be sedated, and because she was so distressed, I allowed it, but it should wear off in the next two hours or so.”

He flicked to another screen.

“I’ve also described her anti-anxiety medication, I recommend she take it for at least the next month. There’s also one for sleeping pills,” he went on. “But those should only be taken if absolutely necessary, I don’t want her forming a dependence on them.”

He shoved out a breath, then looked up at me.

“And as her family already has so much to deal with, I’m trusting you to look after her, Mr. Wilde.”

I nodded, picking Judy up like I would a sleeping kid. She slumped against my shoulder, her nose twitching like crazy when she buried her face in my neck. She shivered, her paw shaking when she weakly tried to grab at my shirt. Even drugs weren’t enough to keep her mind off of it.

“I’ll do whatever I can to help her,” I said, hugging her tightly. “You can count on that.”

He nodded, glanced at Bogo, then walked off, taking the wheelchair with him. I looked at the Chief, my heart going to my throat when Judy whimpered, her tears starting to soak my fur.

“I-I know what you’re about to say,” I turned away from him, that impassive look was just too much for me right now. “We can’t be on this case anymore, and for once, I’m with you.”

I ran a paw down her ears, trembling like the rest of her.

“Judy can’t take much more of this, and if I’m honest, neither can I,” I swallowed. “Just let me take her home, and I’ll answer any questions you still have for me.”

He just nodded, following me when I went for the doors.

“I couldn’t make Hopps work in her condition, and you never worked for me in the first place,” he chuckled a bit, then frowned. “But, you did still find what you went there to, so I’m prepared to send the paperwork through, if you’re still looking to get your badge.”

I didn’t hesitate.

“You’re damn right I am,” I smoothed a claw over Judy’s cheek, brushing away a tear. He looked at me.

“There’s also the option to join the academy,” he started. “You’d get formal training, and you could—”

I shook my head, cutting him off.

“With all due respect, Chief, I couldn’t,” I sighed. “For one thing, I’d be gone for months, and I can’t leave her alone, especially when she’s like this.”

I tried to smile, but it didn’t last long.

“I know both sides of the law like the back of my paw, but we all know I could never make it as a cop,” I managed to chuckle. “I’d just waste everyone’s time by trying to get out of that paperwork.”

He snorted, but it was hard to miss the smirk that flashed across his face, until his mouth dropped open when we got to my car.

The sides had been keyed, the tires were slashed and most of the windows were shattered. The seats were clawed up, with _‘Fuck You Wilde!’_ spray painted in neon orange across the windshield.

“What the _hell_?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *-Someone commented this on JANitB, and I just had to use it this time around. XD


	13. Chapter 13

“Just when I was starting to think things couldn’t get any worse…”

I slumped in my seat, dropping my face in my paws. Carrots was curled up next to me, and I couldn’t stop the smile when I saw her snuggle further under my jacket.

 _Hard to believe someone so cute and tiny took down a freaking elephant,_ I winced. _And I’m sure if I ever called her that out loud, she’d kill me._

Bogo had brought us to the precinct while the CSI team looked over my car, not that they’d need anything they might’ve found. The whole thing had been caught on camera, and the perps hadn’t even tried to hide their faces. The leader seemed to have been the groundhog from my old Junior Ranger Scouts troop, the same mammal who’d first muzzled me. The other two had been a pair of rabbit bucks I’d never seen before, and I hated myself for wondering if they were more of Judy’s pred-hating relatives. They’d taken care of the windows and spray paint, while he’d slashed the tires. They’d stepped back when a pair of wolves had shown up, one clawing my car while the other keyed it. I’d dealt with mammals coming after me before, it was why I’d moved outside the main city, but this group had only done it because I’d said I loved a bunny, and that same bunny had said she loved me.

_Makes me wonder why I still bother to try and change things…_

A lot of things had gotten better for preds, half of which wouldn’t have happened if the band and I hadn’t gotten behind them, but most prey still did everything they could get away with to keep us down. Finding loopholes in the new laws, throwing their “reserve the right to refuse” signs in our faces, if they didn’t just slam the door in them first. But the ZPD, the fire department, even the city council were all half-pred, maybe even more by this point, not to mention the mayor being a lion. Whether they knew it or not, prey counted on us to run the city and save their lives, and they repaid us by making ours barely worth living.

“Um, N-Nick Wilde?”

I looked up at a nervous gazelle, tapping her hooves on the CD she was holding.

“Yeah?”

She messed with the case again, then gulped.

“M-My name’s Amara, a-and I just wanted to say I’m a big fan,” she bit her lip. “I-I always overheard Judy talking about how awesome you guys are, so I asked to borrow a CD last month, a-and I’ve been hooked ever since!”

She swallowed again, then shoved the case toward me, the album we’d released before our last concert.

“A-And I know this isn’t the best time,” she glanced at Carrots, still snoozing away. “But…could you please sign this for me?”

I couldn’t stop the shocked laugh that slipped out.

“Sure,” I took the pen she held out and flipped the case open, writing on the inside flap. _‘To Amara, a real sweetheart. Stay wild! Nick.’_ She squealed when I passed them back to her, shaking my paw so hard she almost pulled me off the seat.

“Oh, thank you, Nick, thank you so much!” she ran off, right into the arms of a laughing panther.

“See, I told you he’d sign it! You just had to ask!”

She giggled, nuzzling him.

“I don’t know why I was so nervous, he’s just as nice as Judy said he was!”

I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck. I knew Carrots had been talking about me, but I’d had no idea she was getting mammals interested in the band. I turned to look at her again, smiling when she batted at her nose in her sleep. Whatever she’d been given at Whitewood would’ve worn off by now, but it looked like exhaustion was enough to keep her out of it, at least for now.

I leaned over and kissed the side her head, my gut twisting at her whine when I pulled back. She made some kind of clicking noise when I picked her up, setting her head in my lap, catching the looks some of the cops milling around were throwing at us. An even mix of envy and disgust, from both pred and prey. I threw up a paw, then went back to ignoring them, I already had enough to worry about right now. I went for my phone and texted Leo, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up quitting on the spot.

_‘before you say anything, sir, i’m not going to quit.’_

I sighed in relief.

_‘You have no idea how much I needed to hear that Leo’_

_‘Hows everyone else taking all this’_

I scratched behind Carrots’ ear, chuckling when she turned and nuzzled into my stomach. I kissed her temple again, glancing at my phone when it buzzed.

_‘about as well as you might think, astelle’s pretty pissed at you’_

I sighed, no surprise there.

 _‘I think Id be more worried if she wasn’t’_ I shook my head. _‘But we found the plant being used to make the drug We should have an antidote soon’_

_‘thank goodness, yumiko and astelle haven’t stopped crying since it happened’_

Carrots groaned when my paw twitched, my claws digging into her cheek where I’d been petting her. My ears perked when I heard Fangmeyer, the tigress bent double as she whispered to Wolfard. She stopped when she noticed me, the wolf glaring at me before taking off. She sighed, walked over and dropped in the chair next to me.

“I didn’t see this coming,” she muttered, dragging a paw over her face. “He’s apparently lost all respect for Judy because she admitted to being with you.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Because we’re prey and pred, or because I’m a fox?”

She shrugged.

“I’m not really sure, but he said it was something he couldn’t deal with, at least for now,” she glanced toward where he’d run off. “But I think it has more to do with everything that’s happened than whatever relationship you two have.”

“Speaking of ‘everything that’s happened’,”I lowered my voice. “Did Wyatt really pull what the Chief said he did?”

She nodded.

“I’m afraid so. Wolfard and I were both there when it happened, we just got back from taking them to the morgue,” she drummed her claws on her leg. “The labs haven’t been able to do much with the Night Howlers yet, but they’re pretty sure you’re right about them being the main ingredient in this drug.”

I swallowed.

“That’s what I’ve been afraid of. There aren’t many animals that know what they can do to you,” I shook my head. “There’s even less that actually have the skill to turn them into a weapon like this.”

She looked at me.

“Didn’t you say Wyatt was just a hired paw? He didn’t have any idea who you were until Judy told him.”

I shrugged.

“I know, but the worst part is animals who hate preds enough to do this aren’t exactly in short supply, and me being the main target doesn’t do much to narrow it down.”

“What do you mean?”

I rubbed the side of my head, then dug my claws in.

“Anyone I can think of who’d personally hate me enough to do this is either dead or in prison,” I let my paw drop. “And all it took for them to find their victims was seeing what music they liked on their Furbook profiles.”

She brushed something off her pants.

“What about that coded message on their pages? Wouldn’t that mean it’d _have_ to be someone personally connected to you?”

I shook my head.

“It’s not like that code was a secret, Fin and I shared it with anyone who asked,” my tail twitched. “If anyone did remember it, it likely would’ve shown up long before now.”

She nodded, both of us turning when someone started shouting, sounding tweaked off his ass.

“Y-You guys are all…going down…you going to burn!”

“What the hell is that all about?”

I barely heard her, feeling like I’d just been shot when the guy was shoved around the corner: a zebra in a bright orange prison uniform. Most of his hair was gone, his skin covered in scars, like he’d been dragged through a field of barbed wire. His eyes were glazed over, and he was pretty much a walking skeleton, but there was no mistaking him.

“Nick?” Fangmeyer finally shook me out of it. I stared after the guy, and the polar bear escorting him, until they disappeared around another corner. I swallowed hard, knowing I looked totally freaked when I turned back to her. “You know that guy?”

I hesitated, random memories flashing through my mind, then nodded.

“H-His name’s Tony,” I squeaked it out. “He’s…my older brother.”

My older brother who was supposed to be dead.

* * *

How the hell was Tony still alive? Where had he been all this time? Just what the hell was going on here?

“There was a massive jailbreak at the North Marshlands Penitentiary,” Snarlov said. “Big Tony here, AKA, Antonio Constantine, has been serving twenty years for drug trafficking, he was one of the only inmates who didn’t try to escape.”

I barely held back a shudder; I still couldn’t think about the last time I’d seen him, not without completely breaking down. I wasn’t even sure why I’d followed him in the first place, since I couldn’t technically do anything.

 _I don’t think even_ I _could get Tony to talk now,_ I watched him through the two-way glass, how he just stared off into space like he had no idea where he was. _Whatever he’s been doing, there’s no way him showing up now is just a coincidence. Whoever’s behind this_ wanted _me to know he’s alive…_

“Nick? What are you doing back here?”

I shook my head, turning to see Amara. Going by the file she was carrying, I guessed she was the one who’d be stuck trying to get anything out of Tony.

“I thought I’d help with him,” I glanced back at him, still completely zoned out. No need to tell her the shield on my belt wasn’t mine, I’d managed to get this far without most mammals guessing that. “Though I think we’ll be lucky if he can remember his name in the state he’s in.”

She licked her lips.

“Are you sure that would be a good idea?” she drummed her fingers on the folder. “I mean, you grew up with this guy, didn’t you? Doesn’t that mean you’re too close to this?”

I shook my head.

“This is the first time I’ve seen him in about fifteen years,” I told her. “I honestly thought he was dead.”

I held up a paw to keep her from arguing.

“But like you just said, I grew up with this guy, and while it was never this bad, I have seen him like this before,” I was sure even she could tell that was bullshit. “I know how to get through to him, and besides, we don’t really have time to waste.”

I wanted this damn case over and done with, no matter what it took to get there. She still looked unsure, chewing on her lip as she thought about what I’d said.

“Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt anything, an if you really think you can handle it…”

I nodded, knowing my voice would crack if I tried saying something. The truth was I had no idea how I’d react if we actually got him talking, or what he might end up saying. But if there was even a chance we’d get something related to all this, then I was willing to try.

“Give me ten minutes with him,” I told her. “Then if things start going bad, you can take me out and finish yourself.”

She bit her lip again, then sighed, grabbing the knob and holding the door open. I stepped through, my ears flicking back when it she let it shut behind me. Tony was still staring blankly at the wall, his arms hanging at his sides; I jumped on the chair across from him, putting my paws on the table as I leaned forward.

“You didn’t even try to escape during that jailbreak,” it took more than I’d thought it would to keep my voice even. “You mind telling me what that was about?”

It took him so long to move I thought he hadn’t heard me, his eyes clearing a bit as he focused on me. Every nerve started screaming at me to run when he sneered, his mouth full of rotten, broken teeth.

“So the ZPD’s hiring pipsqueaks like you now?” his voice was rough, and once again I wondered just what the hell he had been doing. He chuckled, the sound dry and choked. “Then they must be really fucking desperate.”

My paws twitched as I tried to keep myself under control, my claws scraping along the tabletop.

“I’m one of the best they have,” I answered smoothly. His breath smelled like something had died in his mouth. “And I’ve made worse psychos than you crack.”

He chuckled again.

“That bun you’ve been hanging with is a nice piece of work,” he smirked.“You jump her yet?”

I went stiff, but other than that, I forced myself to keep my cool, this was no time to let him see that he got to me.

“The last few years haven’t been nice to you, Tony,” I stayed on track. He’d cared about his appearance more than anything when we were kids. “What the hell happened to you?”

His eye twitched, the last of that dazed look fading, a pissed glare taking its place.

“ _You_ fucking happened, _fox_ ,” he tried to stand, the short chain hooking his cuffs to the table jerking him back down. He growled, and I could’ve sworn I heard several of his teeth crack. “Everything was great until they brought _you_ home, when your _stink_ started soaking our house!”

He jumped at me, the chain making him crash against the table. If it hadn’t been bolted to the floor, I was sure it would have toppled. I pulled away, crossing my arms, keeping my blank mask on as he started unraveling.

“All my friends turned on me, my teachers started watching me, I was getting blamed for shit I had _nothing_ to do with!” he growled again. “No one trusted me anymore, all because we had a fox in the house!”

He slammed his hooves on the table, and I was sure if he hadn’t wasted to this, he would’ve dented it.

“Then they brought the other one home; two of you pieces of shit, ruining everything we’d worked for!” tears started to run down his face, I was surprised he even knew how to cry. “We were outsiders, all because of _you_!”

He lunged for me, fighting against the chain for what felt like hours, until he suddenly stopped, and the smile he gave me then was one of the most insane things I’d ever seen.

“So I started thinking, if Mom and Dad didn’t give a shit about what they were doing, why not just take things into my own hooves?”

The fur on the back of my neck stood on end, fear twisting my gut. Where the hell was he going with this? He laughed, the sound turning into a hard cough, and I swore I smelled blood.

“You know that day you came home…found Mom in a pool of her own puke?” he sneered again. “All it took was a little ipecac in her tea.”

I froze. Mom had kept that around in case one of us ate something we shouldn’t have, or if _Tate_ had called on her to make someone talk. But she’d kept it locked up where we couldn’t reach it, and had kept the key hidden. How had he—

“Oh, and that weasel that hit Fin?” he chuckled, then shrugged. “Well, that was just a happy accident, but the skunk that hit you?”

The smirk dropped, and his eyes narrowed.

“Wasn’t.”

I gasped, my paw shaking as I grabbed my shirt. I’d blocked out my thirteenth birthday, telling myself I’d just been seeing things, that Tony hadn’t stood there laughing while I’d been bleeding in the street, that he hadn’t dropped a stack of cash in that skunk’s paw. But as I’d started passing out, all I’d been able to focus on had been the sliver of metal stuck in my chest, shaking with each breath. I was just glad I’d been numb to the pain as I’d finally blacked out.

I’d woken up to a doctor talking to our parents, saying that my heart had been pierced, how they were all amazed I’d made it to the hospital, let alone through surgery. It had taken me months to recover, but instead of going home when I’d been released, I’d been sent to Meadowbrook.

All because I’d attacked the mammal who’d killed my brother, and had tried to kill me.

I stared at him, having to grab the edge of the table just to stay on my feet. The pain that always flared up when I got stressed was spreading through my chest, the rest of my body going numb. I could barely breathe, my vision blurring as I forced out the last question I had for him.

“W-Why…”

He just shrugged again, the sound echoing in my head when the door slammed open. The last thing I saw was a pair of eyes as dark as our dad’s, filled with cold, soulless hatred.

“Bye-bye, Nicky.”

* * *

“We removed a small nodule of scar tissue from the interior of the left ventricle,” a tiny voice was saying. What the hell had just happened? How long had I been out? “We were able to use a new, minimally invasive surgical technique developed by the top cardiothoracic surgeons in the country…”

I cracked my eyes open when I felt a small paw on mine, trying to smile when I saw Judy sitting in an oversized chair next to me. A pygmy jerboa in a doctor’s coat was pacing around by her other paw, focused on the smallest tablet I’d ever seen. He stopped when he realized I was awake, his eyes narrowing while she just looked relieved.

“My esteemed colleague, Dr. Muskrat, has informed me of your little stunts, Mr. Wilde,” he walked up to me and climbed on my chest. “And while it was relatively minor, you _did_ just have heart surgery, so I don’t think I need to remind you to take it easy, for at least the next month.”

I bit back an annoyed sigh, not wanting to send him flying just yet. She chuckled.

“I’m going to be laid up for a while myself, Dr. Monroe,” she glanced at me, then smirked. “I’ll be able to make sure he doesn’t get in _too_ much trouble.”

Monroe just looked at her, then shook his head, sliding off my chest and heading for a toy-sized ladder hooked to the bed.

“I am going to hold you to that, Officer Hopps,” he turned back to us. “We don’t need either of you coming back here, possibly needing major surgery, because you could not control yourselves.”

I put on the most innocent look I could, and going by the glare he threw at me, it wasn’t too convincing.

“I’d like to keep you here for observation, Mr. Wilde,” he went on, typing something on that tablet. “For at least the next forty-eight hours—”

“Whoa, whoa, hold up,” I pushed myself up, eyeing him. I already felt better than I had in years, and I was more than ready to finally put all this behind me. “I can’t just lounge around here that long, not with the case still—”

Carrots put a paw on my arm, shaking her head when I turned to her.

“Chief Bogo took me off the case, Nick,” she told me. “And since you were never official in the first place, that means you’re off it, too.”

She squeezed my arm, then pulled back.

“And even if I _didn’t_ have a bum foot for the next two months, do you really think I’d let you keep investigating after all… _this_?”

She pointed at my chest, and for the first time I noticed stitches and a bandage pulling at my fur. I wanted to argue with her, say that Monroe himself had said it was minor, and that there was still plenty we could do without moving around too much. But she had that look in her eyes again, the one that said I could go on until I was blue in the face, but it would be like arguing with a brick wall. I groaned, letting myself fall back against my pillow; at least it was comfortable this time.

“Fine. I still don’t like it,” I crossed my arms, pouting like a kit. “But since it looks like I don’t have a choice, I’ll go along with it.”

The jerboa smiled.

“Good, I’ll be back to check on you in another hour,” he finished the walk to the ladder, then turned back to us again. It was hard to tell, but I was pretty sure he was smirking. “And remember, Officer Hopps, nothing too strenuous.”

I snickered at the look on her face, her ears going bright red as he slid to the floor. It took him forever to cross the room and hit the hallway, and the second he was gone, Carrots climbed over the rail, wincing when her bum foot hit it. She threw her arms around me, burying her face in my neck. She started crying, her paw catching my fur when she grabbed my shirt.

“Y-You dumb fox!” her voice was muffled, the scent of her tears hitting me like a truck. “D-Don’t you _ever_ do that again, you scared the shit out of me!”

She broke down, her whole body shaking. I hugged her, nuzzling the short fur between her ears, fighting my own tears until she calmed down, her breath hitching when she pulled away to look at me.

“N-Nick, why didn’t you tell me you had _scarring_ in your heart?” her paw tightened on my shirt. “W-Why would you keep something _that big_ a secret?!”

My ears fell back, I didn’t try to keep the guilt from my face.

“I didn’t say anything because I _couldn’t,_ Judy,” I shook my head. “I didn’t even know it was there until I heard Doc Short Stack talking about it.”

She snorted, then wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

“Hopefully this means the end to at least one kind of pain for you,” she brushed a paw down my chest, her smile fading. “And I hope you’ll let me be there to help with the rest…”

I stared at her.

“Why wouldn’t I, Fluff?”

She played with her paws, then shook her head, hard enough for her ears to whip out behind her.

“I’m still just…scared, I guess,” she started quietly. “Scared that, one day, you’ll find a gorgeous vixen and decide you don’t need me anymore, that you’ll realize I’m not even half the bunny you think I am.”

I rolled my eyes, grabbed her paw and pulled her to me.

“That’s never going to happen, Judy, I promise you that,” I tilted her chin back, flashing a smile. “And if it does, I expect you to come and knock some sense into me, because I’ll clearly have lost it.”

She giggled, taking my paw and putting it on her cheek. I wiped a tear from her eye, sighing when my thumb brushed over her scars.

“And again, we’re in the same boat, because part of me can’t stop thinking that you’ll et tired of dealing with me, that you’ll go find a buck who’s _not_ a complete freaking basket case.”

She laughed again.

“And I can promise you that’s never going to happen, Nick,” she let go of my paw, putting hers back on my chest. “Even if what we have right now fades, and I hope to every god there is that it doesn’t, I’ll still be there for you, whether or not you’re there for me.”

I traced a claw over her bottom lip, my eyes locking with hers.

“Of course I will, Carrots,” I smiled again. “Always.”

She sighed, leaning in until her face was less than an inch from mine.

“That’s all I needed to hear, Nick…”

She kissed me, and I was probably imagining things, but something felt…different, right in a way nothing between us quite had before. She gasped when I bit her tongue, moaning as I dug my claws into her ass, loving every little sound she made as I pulled her against me. She straddled me, shoving a paw under my shirt as she wrapped her other arm around my neck, taking control. I groaned, grabbing her wrist, both of us panting when I finally ended it. Her nose was twitching, her eyes glazed like she’d fallen in a trance. It didn’t clear much when she blinked, but at least she stopped trying to twist out of my grip.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re kind of sitting in a hospital bed right now,” I took her paw, running it over the bandage on my chest. “And I did just come out of surgery.”

That snapped her out of it. Her ears flushed red as she pushed off me, curling up at the edge of the bed.

“I-I’m sorry, Slick…” she muttered. “I-I was just so relieved you woke up, that you’re going to be okay…”

She trailed off, her voice getting lower.

“And that you won’t leave me…”

I smiled, picked her up and held her close.

“I’ll never leave you,” I promised quietly, taking her paws. “Even if you end up hating my guts and cursing me out of your life.”

She giggled, then sniffled a bit, snuggling into my shoulder.

“That’ll never happen, Nick,” she whispered, smiling up at me. “I promise.”

* * *

_At least something good’s come out of being stuck here…_

I folded the corner of the page, dropping the book on the pile next to me. I’d spent the last two days reading them, learning everything there was to know about Zootopian law and how the city’s government worked, at least on the legal side of things. I’d need it if I wanted to get anywhere as a PI, and I didn’t really have much else to do.

Carrots had brought the whole stash from her apartment, saying I might as well study up since my application had been fast tracked, and that I’d still have to take a few tests to prove I knew the law. Granted, they were kind of small for me, but at least she’d highlighted things and scribbled notes in the margins, so it was easy to see what was actually important, once I’d figured out what she’d actually written.

_Guess good pawwriting’s not on the list of requirements…_

I laid back with my paws behind my head, glancing at the pile before staring at the ceiling. She hadn’t come around since dropping the books off, or even answered any of my texts.

_She must be pretty busy, whatever she’s doing._

I thought back to the day we’d met, when I’d started going from just another band leader to probably one of the most important animals in the city. Preds had started going savage and disappearing because someone had a grudge against me, and I’d not only managed to find them all, but figure out how they’d lost their heads in the first place. Of course, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of that if I hadn’t had Carrots, Paul and Mercy behind me. They’d been there whenever I’d freaked out, had dragged me back whenever I’d thought about giving up and going home. They’d all gotten hurt because of me, and I just hoped they’d be able to forgive me, at least some day.

Now that I was thinking about it, it seemed like the only one who hadn’t been affected so far had been Leo. He was still keeping watch over my place, making sure no one got close enough to make a mess of the place.

I sat up when someone knocked, my ears perking when Clawhauser slipped in. He looked nervous, glancing around like he expected someone to ambush him.

“Hey Spots,” I kept my voice low, he was spooked enough. It took him a few minutes to realize I was there.“What’s going on?”

He whined, messing with his paws as he walked to my bed, the chair groaning when he dropped in it.

“J-Judy made me swear not to say anything, b-but it just feels wrong to keep it from you…” he gulped. “N-Nick…y-your brother’s…”

He whined again, burying his face in his paws and shaking his head. I took his shoulder, tightening my grip until he looked at me.

“Calm down, Spots,” I said, sounding more pissed off than I’d wanted to. “What about Tony?”

He stared at me, still wide-eyed, then gulped again.

“T-Tony, he’s gone,” he bit his lip. “He disappeared just after you talked to him.”

I blinked, pulling back from him.

“W-Wait…what?”

“Tony disappeared from his holding cell,” he spelled it out for me. “Bogo threw him in there after the ambulance picked you up, then when he and Amara went to talk to him later, he was gone.”

I barely noticed when my head hit the wall. There were cameras all over the precinct, hundreds of cops coming and going, how the hell could they have missed him? I swallowed hard, my mouth dry.

“D-Do you have any idea where he went, or how he pulled it off?”

He shook his head.

“All we know is at least one other mammal must’ve helped him, there was a huge power surge just after you left,” he added, gnawing his lip. “A-All the cameras went completely offline, and no one knows how, b-but he managed to get out without anyone seeing him!”

I couldn’t do much more than sit there as I tried to process it all. First, Tony was the only one who hadn’t tried to escape during that jailbreak, then he’d admitted to poisoning our mom and paying someone to try and kill me. And now someone had helped him get out of Precinct One undetected. What the hell was going on here? Who was behind it, and what was their endgame?

“And there’s something else,” his voice pulled me back to reality. “J-Judy wanted me to tell you, she’s not avoiding you because she’s mad or anything, she just needs time to think. A lot’s happened for you two recently, you know?”

I scoffed, that was the understatement of the century. There’d been something in the news yesterday about a cop’s apartment getting broken into; nothing had been taken, but they’d vandalized the place. Slurs spray-painted on the walls, clothes ripped up, pictures smashed to pieces. There hadn’t been any other details about who’d been targeted, but it hadn’t taken me long to figure out. I shoved out a breath, running a paw through my hair.

“She’s the last one to deserve any of this,” I glanced at the pile of books. As much as it hurt, I knew there was only one way to make life easy for her again, and it took me forever to force the words out. “M-Maybe I should just break it off with her…”

He gasped, but a different voice answered, higher and completely pissed.

“Don’t you dare even think about it, Wilde!”

Judy hobbled in on her crutches, Amara waving awkwardly at us before shutting the door. I froze when she stopped by the bed, both of us staring down at her.

“Ben, help me up, would you?”

He knew that tone as well as I did, and didn’t waste any time in getting her on the bed. She smiled at him, but it didn’t do much to calm him down, and when she turned to me, it dropped from her face. I swallowed.

“L-Look, Judy, I—”

“Save it, Nick,” she crawled to me, planting herself in my lap and wrapping an arm around me. “I don’t care what you have to say, I’m not going to let you end this just because some mammals don’t like it.”

I growled, grabbing the paw she’d put on my chest.

“It’s not that mammals disagree with this,” I said quietly, my voice tight. “It’s _how_ they’ve disagreed with it.”

I hugged her.

“The day we got back, my car was wrecked in the hospital parking lot, then just yesterday someone broke into your apartment and destroyed almost everything you own,” I kissed the top of her head. “The mammals responsible didn’t even try to hide, and I don’t want to think what they might try in the future…”

She nuzzled into my neck, then pushed back from me.

“Nick, even if I didn’t feel like this about you, if phasing you out the last few days hadn’t physically hurt me, I’d never let you break it off, and you know why?” she didn’t give me time to answer, not that I could have, anyway. “Because ending this would mean giving those bastards exactly what they want, and you should by now that I will _never_ give in to hatred, no matter who it’s coming from!”

I growled again, louder.

“And do you know we even really have anything, rabbit?” I spat. “We’ve never even said what we are!”

She glared at me, then rolled her eyes.

“You should know that won’t work on me, Slick, especially when I understand why you’re doing it,” she hugged me, burying her face in my chest. “What happened to the fox who never let anyone see that they got to him? That said after what he’d been through, he’d never let fear rule his life again?”

I groaned, not bothering with an excuse. We both knew she had me right where she wanted me.

“I’ve heard what gets thrown at you just for being a bunny cop,” I turned away. “And you’ve heard what gets thrown at me for being a fox, a mammal even the worst preds do their best to avoid.”

I focused back on her, letting every ounce of pain and fear fill my eyes.

“You already go through too much, just because you were brave enough to go after your dream, you don’t need any more shit just because you’re with me,” I shook my head, touching the scars on her cheek. “You were mauled by a fox as a kit, then shot at just because you said you were friends with one.”

I gulped.

“And now, almost everything you own’s been destroyed, all because you admitted to being more with one,” I locked my eyes with hers. “I couldn’t bear it if you got hurt, or worse, just because you’re in love with me.”

She took my snout, slowly shaking her head with an indulgent look on her face.

“You just said the only thing that matters, Nick,” she brought my face down, laying her forehead against mine. “I’m in love with you, and nothing could ever make me leave you.”

She kissed me before I could say anything, and I couldn’t bring myself to care that Spots was probably taking video the whole time.

“I just wish I could finally get my head out of my ass and realize that,” I muttered. She giggled, nestling back under my chin.

“Take as long as you need to, Nick,” she nuzzled me again. “I’ll always be here to remind you, I promise.”

* * *

  _“Oh my God, Nicky, what happened to you?!”_

_Fru wouldn’t quit staring at me, or shouting at me. I growled, not caring when I ripped the towel I’d been twisting in my paws. It hadn’t been the shittiest night of my life, but it had still sucked a whole lot of ass. I dropped on the bed, leaning over to spit blood into the trashcan._

_“I just found out my girlfriend’s a lying slut,” I didn’t try to keep the rage from my voice. I brushed the scars on my neck, it had been six years since those damn collars had been outlawed, but I still expected a shock whenever I got pissed. And whether they knew it or not, that collar was the only reason some mammals I knew were still alive; getting shocked until I blacked out was a great way for them to keep their guts intact. She came over and sat on my paw, brushing my fur like she always when she wanted me to chill._

_“I know I’m not great at keeping secrets,” she started. I scoffed, wasn’t that the freaking truth? “But you know I’ll always be here for you, our whole family will always have your back.”_

_I tried to smile, but it didn’t stick. I sighed, rubbing the towel over my head; we were at their hotel in the Rainforest District, and I’d gotten stuck in a downpour._

_“Thanks, Fru, but you don’t have to waste your time getting involved in this, I already took care of it.”_

_She shook her head, pulled out her phone and shot off a text._

_“It’s never a waste where you’re concerned, Nicky,” she smiled at me. “Like I said, you’re family, and you’ve already done so much to help us.”_

_I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. Their idea of helping was kicking the ass of any rival street surfer that came our way, or roughing up the tough guys who wouldn’t pay back their loans. I also helped with the books once in a while, I was good with math as long as the alphabet stayed out of it. She brushed my paw again, tugging at the shirt scrap I’d tied around it._

_“I asked for the doctor just now,” she went on. “We should get these taken care of right away.”_

_I didn’t try to hide when she looked me over, because I knew, as bad as it was: the black eye, busted nose, split lip that had me drooling blood, the other guys were even worse. I’d made sure of it._

_“It’s not like you to get in fights for no reason, Nicky,” she was still going on. “What exactly happened with—eeek!”_

_I slashed a claw in her face._

_“_ Don’t _even say her_ fucking _name,” I snapped, my teeth bared. “It wasn’t enough that that bitch was stealing from me, I had to find out tonight she’s been fucking three guys behind my back!”_

_She gasped._

_“W-What? Nicky, I know she can be a little high maintenance, but do you really think she’d—?”_

_“_ I fucking saw her do it _!” I grabbed the trashcan and spit again. The only thing that had kept me from completely losing it tonight had been the smug look on that bitch’s face. Mauling the piles of shit she’d been with had been enough to prove her right, so I’d forced myself to chill, to spit out the tail I’d been so close to tearing off. Then I’d grabbed their backpacks and split, using every back alley I knew to get back to the hotel, where Fru had already been waiting for me._

_I pulled myself out of it when she climbed on my shoulder,my ears heating up when she hugged my cheek._

_“The doctor’s here, Nicky,” she nuzzled me. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”_

_She dropped in my lap, smiling at me again before heading for the ladder hooked to my bed. She scurried out past the gnu in a lab coat, Doctor Augustine, one of the only prey mammals the Big family trusted._

_“Well, Nicky,” he shut the door behind him. “Looks like you got yourself into trouble again…”_

I couldn’t stop the growl, my claws digging into the seat as my fists clenched. That had been almost ten years ago, and just the thought of that bitch still made me ready to kill. Carrots and I had been sitting in the waiting room at Whitewood for so long I’d completely zoned out. It a lot to keep my face blank when I caught Astelle, and about half the mammals in the room glaring at me. I sank back in my chair, tucking my tail in my lap to keep it from thumping against the seat. My ears flicked when a white and gray paw touched my arm, when I saw the worry in my bunny’s big purple eyes.

Her ankle had healed to where she could go without the crutches, as long as she didn’t overdo it. I took her paw and kissed it, ignoring the sneers and glowers sent our way, thanking God that was all we’d been getting lately.

“They should be waking up any minute now,” she said quietly. “Shouldn’t they?”

I shrugged. The savage attacks had just kind of stopped after Rocco, Ed and Paul had been hit, and that had been two months ago. I glanced at Astelle, watching the front desk with Yumiko curled up and asleep in her lap. It was the first time I’d been this close to either of them sine Zariah had unknowingly taken that drug. I’d always known Astelle wasn’t too fond of me, but after all this, I wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up hating me until the day she died, I know I would.

“Mrs. Savanna?”

We all turned to a white tigress in pink scrubs, her eyes narrowing at me and Carrots before she turned to Astelle.

“Your daughter, husband and brother-in-law are all awake and asking for you,” she glared at us again before turning her back, waiting for Astelle to follow her; she didn’t even glance at us before getting up, shifting Yumiko to her shoulder before catching up to the nurse. Carrots’ paw tightened on mine.

“But what about Paul?” her voice cracked a bit. “And Trevor and Mercy?”

The tigress didn’t bother to answer, letting the door next to the reception desk slam shut behind her.

* * *

_‘any word yet?’_

I’d been staring at the message since I’d gotten it. It had already been two hours since that tiger had led Astelle back.

_‘Rocco Ed and Zariah are back but nothing so far about Paul Mercy or Trevor’_

I sent it off, running a paw down Carrots’ ears. She’d fallen asleep against my shoulder, and had slumped down to my lap. Most of the waiting room had cleared out by now, victims leaving with their families after talking to one of the cops that had been hanging around since they’d first announced that the antidote was ready.

I’d made the mistake of telling Leo that the staff were purposefully ignoring us, he’d been sending the same text about every five minutes since. I put my phone on silent and dropped it in my vest pocket, scratching behind her ear as she started walking up. She leaned back into my paw as she stretched, her ears staying flat against her back when she noticed how empty the room was.

“What’s going on?” she yawned. “Haven’t they woken up yet?”

I shrugged, taking her paw and pulling her back in my lap.

“I’m starting to think they forgot we’re here,” I nuzzled the top of her head. “We’ve been sitting here for hours.”

She groaned, perking up when the door by the desk opened. That tigress nurse came out, glancing around the room before focusing on us, still looking like she wanted to throw us in the trash.

“Looks like we have a whole group of sickos,” she glared over her shoulder. “Hey, you two, get your damn paws off each other so you can leave and stop making us all sick!”

“Yeah, yeah, we heard you the first time,” Paul’s voice was rougher than I’d ever heard it. “If you had let us go when you were supposed to, we’d already be long out of your fur, sweetheart!”

She groaned in disgust before storming off, letting the door drop shut behind her again. Carrots jumped off me when it opened again, running to them before they’d even made it into the room.

“Mercy! Paul!” she jumped, Mercy catching her, laughing as she hugged her. “I’m so glad you’re both okay!”

“Of course we are,” Paul laughed when she jumped to him, getting all misty eyed as he almost crushed her. “Thanks to you guys!”

I shook my head, sliding off the seat and shoving my paws in my pockets.

“Was starting to think we were invisible or something,” I glanced at the door that nurse had left through. “She didn’t even seem to know we were here!”

“She just has a pole up her butt,” Mercy swept me up, almost making me go deaf with her squealing. “Thank you, Nick, for absolutely everything!”

I gasped when she put me down, grabbing the ribs I was sure she’d cracked.

“Almost forgot you could do that,” I panted. Paul stepped toward me, still holding Carrots, both their smiles gone.

“I heard some of the nurses talking after I woke up,” his ears went flat. “I’m sorry you guys had to go through all that.”

I shrugged, taking her paw when he put her down next to me.

“We found out who was making the drug and how, _and_ we found what they needed to finish the cure,” I pulled her closer and kissed her, chuckling at her dazed expression when I pulled away. “So I’d say it was all worth it.”

Mercy stared at us, her mouth slack, then shook her head.

“Okay, it looks like I missed a lot while I was under that stuff, so I need details!”

Carrots giggled.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get them,” she looked at me, a bit of pain in her eyes as she all but fell against my side. “But right now, I could really use a nap…”

I laughed.

“You were just asleep for over an hour, Fluff,” I stroked her paw with my thumb. “How can you still be tired?”

She wrapped her arms around mine, giving me that ‘kicked baby’ face.

“It wasn’t long enough,” her lip quivered, her eyes getting wider. “Please, Nick?”

I could only take it for a few seconds, just when I thought I’d finally started getting used to it.

“Fine, but I’ll be blinding myself later so you can’t use that on me again,” I turned back to her. “Are you _trying_ to kill me, Fluff?”

Smirking, she grabbed my shirt, pulled me down and kissed me, hard.

“Maybe I am, Slick,” she bit my lip. “Maybe I am.”


	14. Chapter 14

“So, this has been going on since the night I…went savage?”

Mercy had been grilling Carrots for hours, but as excited as she sounded, I knew there was another reason for it. The anti-pred protests had gotten worse after Judy and I had gone public, and then a couple pigs at Whitewood had sabotaged half the vials of the Night Howler antidote. They’d said it would only take about three days to finish the next batch, but that meant three more days the rest of the victims’ families had to worry, that they were stuck watching the friends, kids and spouses who’d lost their minds.

“Dude, watch it!”

Paul barely managed to catch the pot, growling when he burned his paws. He glared at me, slamming it back on the stove before going to the sink, throwing the cold water on full blast.

“I’m worried about Trevor and the others too,” he held his paws under the stream. “But I just spent two and a half months locked in the hospital, I don’t want to have to go back tonight because you dumped boiling water on my feet or something!”

I sighed, rubbing a paw over my eyes. That was already the third time my spacing out had almost ruined something.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry,” I tugged the fur on the back of my neck. “I just can’t stop thinking about it, and everything else that happened after Carrots and I got back…”

“Back?” he cut the water, drying his paws on the towel slung over his shoulder. “Back from where?”

I shook my head.

“Carrots and I had to go to Bunnyburrow, remember? That’s where the Baby Blues pills and those darts were coming from,” I swallowed, knowing I shouldn’t be saying any of this, not while the investigation was still active. “One of her uncles had some kind of huge grudge against preds, and turned out to be completely insane. He suckered two of his sons into helping him, and ended up shooting one of them before turning the gun on himself. Her cousin didn’t make it, either.”

I swallowed again, then shuddered.

“It was the same gun he’d tried to kill _me_ with earlier, after stealing it from her,” I glanced up to see him gaping at me; it would’ve been funny if this had been anything else. I shoved out a breath, deciding to just tell him the whole story.

“Bogo gave us three days to find the drug’s source, and it ended up being these crazy flowers called Night Howlers that Tony made me eat when we were kids,” I ran a paw through my hair, forcing back the memory; now was not the time. “Then when her uncle found out she was in love with me, he hit her with one of her own tranqs and tried to kill me with her gun.

“My ISS ended up taking over,” I went on. “And I ran off thinking I’d killed him. Judy started looking for me before the tranq had even worn off, and she ended up falling down an embankment while chasing me. That’s where I ended up finding the Night Howler field.”

I glossed over the next part, it was still too fresh for me to think about it.

“The night we got back to the city, there was jailbreak at the North Marshlands Penitentiary, where I found out Tony’s been locked up,” I put a paw on my chest, still not used to being able to think about him without that pain flaring up. Paul just kept staring at me, I wasn’t surprised he had trouble believing it. Hell, I’d lived through it and I barely believed it. “He was the only one who didn’t try to escape, and I managed to talk my way into being able to question him.”

His mouth worked a few times before he just snapped it shut. I shoved my paws in my pockets to hide how hard my fists were clenched.

“T-Tony ended up admitting to trying to kill our mom with ipecac, and to setting up that car that hit me when I was thirteen.”

He nodded.

“I remember that, you were out cold for days,” he looked at me. “I think that’s also when that thing with your chest started…”

“Yeah, I ended up having a huge spell and blacking out. When I woke up, I found out there’d been a blob of scarring in my heart, where that metal hit me.”

He sucked in a breath, coughing when he choked on it.

“A-Are you serious? Why didn’t they figure that out earlier?”

I shrugged.

“I don’t know, but I should be fine now that it’s gone,” I shut off the oven and took the pan out, smirking when I saw the look on his face.

“Wow, smells like you’ve really outdone yourself this time, what’d you make?”

I set it on the stove, hissing when my arm hit the edge.

“Shit, that hurts,” I went to the sink and splashed some water on it. “And it’s nothing fancy, just eggplant gratin, and some crawfish if you and Mercy want it.”

His jaw dropped again.

“You mean you managed to handle meat without getting sick? Actual _meat_?” he frowned. “This isn’t because you feel guilty, is it?”

I didn’t see any point in lying.

“Some of it is, yeah,” I grabbed the tray and hit the dining room. “But the rest is I’m just glad you guys are safe.”

“Most of us, anyway,” he shut off the stove, grabbing the pot of crawfish before following me. “How’s it going with your PI badge?”

I set the pan on one of the hotplates on the table.

“Buffalo Butt fast tracked my application, so now all I have to do is take a test or something to prove I know the law,” I scratched my cheek. “He also said we’d have to hit a shooting range, to make sure I’m not a total spaz with a gun.”

He laughed.

“I don’t think you have to worry about that, if those shots you pulled earlier are anything to go by.”

I chuckled.

“All I did was take Carrots down a few notches…”

She’d been going on about how she’d been the best shot in her class at the academy, and how she was still one of the best in the precinct. Her coworkers were always challenging her to see who’d buy the first round of drinks, or whatever they’d decided to bet on that day. Mercy had eventually cut in, saying I was the best shot she’d ever seen, and that no one had even come close to beating me. And the more I’d said it wasn’t a big deal, that it didn’t matter who the best shot was, the more they’d both egged me on. The last straw had been when Carrots had said I was only saying that because I was scared, that I didn’t want to face the fact that I’d lose to a ‘cute little bunny’. I’d called her that one damn time, and she _still_ wouldn’t let me hear the end of it.

We’d ended up behind my place, a couple hundred feet from the crabapple tree back there. She’d started spinning her gun on her finger, looking smug as all hell as she’d spelled out the wager: I’d either be stuck on the couch or forced to wear an ‘I lost to a bunny’ shirt for the rest of the month, whichever she felt like putting me through when it was over. I’d just stepped back, wishing her all the luck in the world. She’d smirked, barely aiming before letting off four shots, each going clean through an apple. I’d had to admit, she was good, but not good enough.

I hadn’t bothered to aim at all. My first two shots had cut stems, the next two dead center through the apples as they’d fallen. And just because I could, I’d turned and fired over my shoulder, taking out one of her apples without looking. She’d stood there gawking, her gun falling in the grass as her arms had dropped to her sides. I’d knelt down and grabbed her chin, gently closing her mouth before tapping her nose with mine.

_“I used to be in the mob, Fluff, remember? Playing with guns was a way of life.”_

She hadn’t answered, her ears popping up when I’d kissed her before getting back to my feet. Then she’d swiped her gun from the ground and hightailed it back inside.

“But, why don’t you just join the academy?” Paul brought me out of it. “You wouldn’t have a problem staying at the top of the class.”

I shrugged.

“Bogo said the same thing, but we all know how much I hate playing by someone else’s rules,” we both laughed. “Besides, I don’t think the world’s ready for a fox cop just yet.”

“Why not?” Mercy and Carrots came through the other door. I shook my head.

“There’s more than enough going on right now,” I was getting sick of repeating myself. “The last thing we need is the uproar that would come with a fox joining the force.”

Hell, just letting a fox near the academy would make some mammals lose their minds. I glanced at Carrots, throwing on a smirk.

“And besides, I wouldn’t want to overshadow little miss crack-shot again, would I?”

She went stiff, her ears going red as she glared at me.

“You just got lucky, fox,” she stormed to the table and jumped in her seat. “I’ll kick your tail next time, I promise!”

I laughed, flicking hers before going to sit across from her.

“Rule two in the mob world, sweetheart,” I said. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

She just pouted, then stuck her tongue out at me. I chuckled.

“Might want to be careful there, little bun,” I leaned over the table and smirked again, able to mean it this time. “You never know how I’ll respond…”

Her eyes went wide, her tongue darting back in her mouth as she sucked in a breath. She slunk down in her seat, her ears flat against her back as she glared at me with a red face.

“Cocky fox…”

I chuckled, sitting back down and reaching for the eggplant gratin.

“Dumb bunny.”

* * *

“No, Maricia, I am _not_ sending you nude pics of my boyfriend!” Carrots growled. “No, you can’t have any either, Marcus!”

She slapped a paw over her eyes, her ears flat against her back. When she pulled her paw back, her eyes were slits.

“I don’t care how hot any of you think he is, you’re _not_ getting them!”

She ended the call and dropped her phone, then flopped over and threw her face in a pillow.

“Ugh, why did I have to take you home…”

I chuckled, sitting the edge of the bed and rubbing my towel over my head. I’d gotten in the shower after the call had started, finishing just in time to hear the end of it.

“Well, you didn’t _have_ to,” I ran a paw down her back. “But you probably wouldn’t have solved the case without me, Fluff.”

She groaned, dragging herself into my lap and burying her face in my chest.

“They’re not even the only ones who’ve called,” she muttered, rubbing her chin over my shoulder before staring up at me. “I think a third of my family have gotten the hots for you, Slick!”

I laughed, dropped the towel on the floor, and hugged her.

“Can’t say I’m surprised, I _am_ irresistible!”

She groaned again, knocking her forehead against my shoulder.

“Ow!” I smirked at her. “You really are hard-headed, Fluff!”

She rolled her eyes before waving a paw in my face.

“Can it for once, will you, fox? I’ve already had a long day…” she tried to burrow into my fur again. “Ngh, sometimes I wish you _weren’t_ so good-looking…”

I chuckled, tightening my hold on her.

“Not really much I can do about that, Fluff, I was born like this.”

“Hmm,” she ran a paw through my fur, then looked back up at me. “I’ve actually been wondering what your birth parents looked like. Do you have a picture of them?”

“Uh…” I glanced around, trying to remember where I’d left the one Fru had given me last week, saying she should’ve done it a long time ago. “Yeah, somewhere…”

I put her down and started searching, finding a hundred other things I’d forgotten about before spotting the picture, knocked behind my nightstand. Fru had framed it, and I ran a paw down the glass, not sure why I was starting to tear up at the sight of mammals I’d never really met, standing on some crowded beach in the 80s.

 _Tate_ always said I looked like my dad, except for the dark tip of my tail and the fact he had brown eyes like most foxes in the world. I’d gotten that stuff from my mom, and looking at her now, I was starting to think I’d gotten some other thing from her, too. My dad wasn’t scrawny, but he looked it standing next to her, especially since, if the date was right, it’d been taken just a few days before I was born. Before cash changing paws at the worst hospital in the city, if not that whole state, had helped lead to both of us losing her.

I growled low in my chest, my claws digging in as my fist clenched at my side. It had taken months to drag that info out of my grandpa, and once I’d learned it, I hadn’t been able to look any of my family in the eye. Not without seething as I’d thought about what they’d done, just so they could adopt their fucking precious fox kit.

As far as I knew, they hadn’t had anything to do with my dad’s death, during a “business deal” with a street mammal that had gotten heated, but it hadn’t exactly hurt their cause. I winced at a small screech, looking to see a scratch mark down the front of the frame; I could hear the wood starting to crack as my grip tightened on it. I shoved out a breath and forced back the memory, the last thing any of us needed right now was me going into a half-crazed rage.

_They couldn’t even live long enough for me to rip their heads off…_

I growled again, freezing when I felt a small, soft paw on my arm. Carrots was staring at me, her ears flat, tears showing in her wide, worried purple eyes.

“N-Nick…” her voice was low, and it shook a bit. I sighed, dropping to the floor and dragging her into my lap, nuzzling every part of her I could reach.

“I-It’s fine, Fluff,” I muttered, feeling her head tilt as I dragged my nose along her chin. “It happened thirty years ago, there’s nothing we can do about it now.”

She turned, gasping when she saw the picture.

“Oh, Nick…”

I followed her stare, my gut twisting when I saw I’d broken the back of the frame, my claws tearing through the edge of the picture. She grabbed my wrist before I could jerk my arm back, holding my paw to her chest as she carefully pulled the ruined frame off. I don’t know how long we sat there, watching the faded picture in silence, before she tilted her head back, kissing the end of my snout.

“They look like nice mammals, and I know they’d be proud of who you’ve become,” she snuggled against me, and I held her more tightly. A few minutes went by before she talked again. “Your mom’s beautiful, by the way, and your dad’s pretty handsome, too, I can see where you get it from.”

I chuckled a bit, hating the tears that started soaking my fur. How could I be sad about it? I’d never gotten a chance to know them!

“You grew up hearing stories about them, though, didn’t you?”

I blinked, staring at the back of her head. She ran a paw over the glass, the scratch I’d put in it, then twisted until she sat sideways.

“It’s easier to see you this way,” she hugged the picture to her. “And you did get to know them, in a way. You grew up hearing stories about them, and from what I’ve learned about you the last few months, you never gave yourself enough time to be affected by it.”

She put a paw on my chest, right over where my heart was pounding. How did she always seem to know what I was thinking?

“It’s a talent I have, Slick,” she touched my cheek. “And you’re not exactly wearing your usual mask right now, everything that’s gone through your head has been written clear across your face.”

She turned back to the picture.

“I wish you could have met them, could have grown up with them…”

I sighed, pressing a kiss between her ears.

“I wish you could have met them too, sweetheart,” I traced a claw over her cheek. “I know they would’ve loved you.”

She smiled, turning and nuzzling into my paw.

“Do you think we could visit them some time?”

I froze, then shook my head, I didn’t even know where they were buried.

“I-I don’t think I’m ready for that yet, Fluff,” I swallowed. “M-Maybe someday, though.”

She hummed thoughtfully, then laid her head on my shoulder. I got up and took the frame from her, setting it on the dresser before I sat on the bed.

“They’re going to give the last victims the antidote tomorrow,” I kept her close to me. “You want to come with us to pick up Trevor?”

She nodded.

“Yeah, it’ll be great to see him again,” she saw the blank look I gave her. “Didn’t I tell you? He was in some of my classes at college, we were both getting a Bachelor’s in criminal justice.”

She shrugged.

“We didn’t talk much, so we lost touch after we graduated.”

I scratched my cheek.

“He just said he was taking some classes a couple years ago, nothing about getting a criminal justice degree,” I cringed. “But considering my background, I’m not surprised he didn’t bring it up.”

She giggled.

“Why don’t you tell him you’re getting your own PI shield? He could even be your partner, if he doesn’t decide to join the academy when the next class starts up.”

I chuckled.

“I overheard Mercy trying to convince Paul to join her,” I smirked at her. “You’re having quite the effect on us, officer.”

She beamed at me.

“Just doing what I do best, Slick,” she grabbed my shirt, pulled me down and kissed me. “Inspiring everyone around me to make the world a better place, and I can’t think of a better group of mammals for the job.”

My whole body warmed up at that. I took her paws, her eyes sparkling when I looked into them.

“You’re going to do a lot of amazing things besides this, Judy,” I said quietly. “And I promise all of us will be right there to back you up.”

She moaned when I kissed her, panting a bit when I pulled back.

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

* * *

“I think that’s the first time you’ve called me your boyfriend.”

I took half a second to glance at Carrots, curled up in the passenger seat and staring out the window. She’d been like that since this morning, when I’d woken up to find her staring at that picture of my birth parents. She drummed her fingers on the door handle, the tip of one ear flicking up before falling back down. Other than that, she didn’t move until I pulled into the parking lot at Whitewood, only about half as full as it had been a few days ago.

“At least we know the antidote works,” she muttered, letting her arm flop to her side. I shut off the car, a generic silver one I’d bought used and kept in the garage, in case my main ride got wrecked. My low-rider had been released and repaired a couple weeks ago, but I figured it’d be a better idea to keep using this one until things blew over. I pulled off my shades, rubbing a paw over my eyes.

“I know what’s eating you, Fluff,” I hooked them in my collar. “You’re still thinking about everything I told you last night.”

She didn’t need to say anything. I sighed, unbuckled our seat belts and dragged her into my lap.

“Part of me wishes I hadn’t told you any of that, I’m sick of seeing you like this because I keep unloading my baggage on you,” I took her paw and kissed it. “I’ve never opened up to another mammal like this, it’s just become second nature to trust you.”

A weak smile flicked across her face. She took my paw and held it to her chest, just like last night.

“And you have no idea how much that means to me,” she ran her fingers over the darker fun on my paw. “I’m just having…trouble processing what you’ve been through, what so many mammals go through every day just because they weren’t born a moose or a beaver.”

She looked back to me.

“But predators make up most of the ZPD, and the fire department, and so many prey still treat you all like you’re lower than trash. It pisses me off to no end, and I can’t do anything about it because I’m just one bunny,” she nuzzled the back of my paw. “Yes, I’ve changed and opened minds in the pasts, proven stereotypes are the last thing we should use to define others, but it feels like no matter what I do, it’s not enough, and it never will be!”

She threw her face in my chest, grabbing my shirt with her free paw, her fingers twitching like she was fighting something.

“Carrots?” I ran a claw down her ear, getting more worried when she didn’t even flinch. “Judy?”

She pulled back, blinked a few times, then shook her head.

“Sorry, Nick,” she muttered. “I-It’s just a lot to take in…”

I chuckled a bit.

“Believe me, I get that,” I tilted her chin back, my eyes locking with hers. “But you know that as much as I tell you about my past, there’s just as much I’m never going to tell you, for your safety and mine.”

I took the paw she still held to my chest.

“There are a lot of secrets I swore I’d take to the grave,” I went on. “And just like you, I don’t go back on my word, I need you to understand that.”

I held her gaze, her eyes wavering just slightly, barely flicking away before focusing back on me. Most mammals wouldn’t have even noticed it, but it was enough for me.

“I’m not playing, Judy,” I put a low growl in my voice and narrowed my eyes. “I know how you think, and trying to uncover those secrets will _only_ end with the mammals you care about paying the price.”

My grip tightened.

“You have to _swear_ that you won’t pry, or I won’t be able to stop what happens. Do you understand?” I raised my voice when she glanced away again. “I said, do you understand?”

She swallowed hard, then nodded, staring right back at me.

“Yes, Nick, I swear I’ll keep my nose out of it. You have my word.”

I hadn’t realized until then just how tense I’d gotten; I sighed, falling back against the seat, putting my arms around her.

“Thank you, Judy,” I ran a paw down her ears, still flat against her back. “I’m sorry I scared you, I had to make sure you really knew how serious this was.”

She nodded.

“I know, Nick, and you didn’t scare me,” she smiled. “You never did.”

Her nose twitched when her phone went off; she grabbed it from her pocket, groaning when she saw the texts.

“Oh, those two…” she put it on silent and threw it on the passenger seat. I laughed.

“Let me guess, Marcus and Maricia again?”

“Yep,” she dropped her forehead on my shoulder. “They managed to see you coming out of the shower while we were home, and they’ve been begging for pictures ever since, specifically, nudes.”

Her ears went pink as she said it. I laughed again.

“I could just send some, you know, I’m not shy,” I snickered at the look on her face.

“You do that, and I am _never_ sleeping with you again,” she pulled my shirt, catching my fur. “It’s one thing to strut around in your underwear for a photoshoot or some advertisement, but you are _not_ sending naked pics to my family, you got that, fox?”

She ran a paw over my sheath, then grabbed it.

“ _This_ is for _my_ eyes only now, got it?”

She tightened her grip until I groaned out loud, shoving her paw away.

“Yes!” I could not think when she did that. “Yeah, okay, I got it!”

She smiled, looking more smug than a bunny should be able to.

“Good,” her paw slid up my chest as she started to stand. “Now come here…”

I tried to resist, my paws shaking when she moaned, whimpering when she dragged her tongue across my lips.

“You…” I groaned when she took my wrist, making my claws trail through the fur of her tail before pulling my paw straight down to her ass. “You do _not_ play fair…”

She giggled again, and nothing had ever sounded so fucking hot, at least until she spoke.

“That’s the idea, Slick Nick…”

And that made me lose it. I grabbed her, kissing her like I’d just seen my life flash in front of my eyes, her claws digging into my neck as I pushed mine under her shirt. Her next moan cutting itself off when someone knocked on the window.

“Time it hit the pause button there, you two,” Mercy laughed. “Trevor’s going to be waking up soon!”

“Oh, right!” Carrots’ ears went bright red, and I was sure mine weren’t much lighter. “W-We’ll be there in a sec!”

Mercy just flashed a smile, waving as she and Paul went past us. That was when I saw it: the black panther standing by a white and silver car, holding the door as a pair of polar bears climbed out. I could barely see the tiny mammals standing on their paws.

“Were Fru-Fru and Mr.Big here last week?” Carrots stood on the seat and leaned against the steering wheel, her tail less than an inch from my face. “Wonder what they’re doing here no—yeek!”

She squealed as I nipped it, jumping to the other seat, paws protecting her ass as she glowered at me, her face and ears tomato red.

“You little pervert!”

I cracked up.

“You grab my dick and try to seduce me in a car, _again,_ but _I’m_ the pervert?” I laughed again, shaking my head. “I don’t think so, Officer, Fluff!”

Her eyes widened, ears falling to her back. The glare faded as she started staring at the seat.

“Uh…well, that’s…um…”

I chuckled, leaning over the center console to tap her nose with mine.

“I’m just messing with you,” I licked her nose and pulled back. “But you have to admit it’s kind of weird to say.”

She huffed, her blush fading as she fixed her shirt, then climbed back in my lap.

“I’m just not used to mammals playing with my tail,” she bit her lip. “And that fight with my brother and sister wasn’t the first time I called you my boyfriend…”

I looked at her. She swallowed.

“I…actually started doing it a couple months after we met, when bucks would try to ask me out. Some of them got…less than friendly when I said no,” she shivered a bit. “I-I never said you were a fox, but I was sure they could smell you on me. I told them you were the best fighter I knew, and that you wouldn’t be happy about other guys hitting on me.”

She pulled back.

“I know I shouldn’t have used you to threaten anyone, Nick, but some of those bucks really scared me and—”

I put a claw to her lips.

“I’m not mad, Fluff, you were just trying to protect yourself,” I kissed her forehead. “Just wish you’d told me how long you’d thought about me like that.”

She giggled nervously.

“I just didn’t want you to think I was another psycho fan, you already deal with enough of those,” she pulled an ear over her shoulder and messed with it. “And I was afraid that, if I _did_ say it around you, I’d jinx it.”

She looked at me.

“You sure you’re not upset?”

I smiled.

“I just said I wasn’t, didn’t I?” I leaned in and kissed her. “But why don’t we catch up to the others? Trevor should be awake by now.”

She nodded.

“It’ll be great to see him again,” she suddenly grabbed my shirt. “But I’m afraid we still have one thing to finish first…”

* * *

I hung back as everyone else crowded Trevor, not sure how he’d react to seeing me. It didn’t matter mammals said I had nothing to with what had happened, I still hadn’t stopped feeling guilty about it.

_Just wish we could figure out who the hell is behind it all…_

I couldn’t think of anyone who would’ve taken that much time to develop this drug, hit over thirty mammals with it, and then just…vanish. What the hell had they even been after?

“You keep staring at the floor like that, you’re going to burn a hole in it.”

I jumped when Trevor’s shadow fell over me. He had the same, mostly blank look on his face that he always did, watching me like I was a lizard in a maze. I swallowed.

“Oh, uh, h-hey, Trevor…” I shook my head. _Nice one, Wilde, he probably thinks you’re terrified of him now…_

He ran a paw through his mane, tangled and patchy from how long he’d been savage, then took the seat next to me. We sat there like a couple of single schmucks on prom night, just watching everyone else, until I finally pulled my head out of my ass and said something.

“L-Look, Trev, I—”

He put a paw in my face.

“You apologize for any of this, I’m going to find the biggest, nastiest toilet in this place and throw you in it,” he shoved the paw in his pocket. “No one with a working brain is blaming you for this, so quit acting like we’re coming after you with all guns blazing.”

He glanced at Judy, laughing with Mercy and Fru.

“So, you and the bunny cop, huh?” he smirked. “Got to say, I’m not surprised.”

I looked at him.

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged.

“You mean beside the fact you’ve always had a thing for rabbits?” his nose wrinkled. “You two smell like you bathed in each other.”

I froze, my tail frizzing. He chuckled.

“I’m not into that mixed species shit,” he went on. “But I’m not one of those psychos that’s going to stop you guys, as long as you don’t shove the fact I’m the only single one now in my face.”

I put a paw on my chest.

“I would never do that!”

He rolled his eyes.

“You’re never going to grow up, are you?”

I laughed.

“Not if I can help it!”

He groaned, got up and went back to everyone else; I chuckled when his parents started hugging on him, before his mom marked him like a little kid. It took a second to find Carrots, and I couldn’t stop the sigh that slipped out when I spotted her. God, she was beautiful, especially when she smiled like that. She broke off from the group, Mercy and Fru lost in their own talk, and came over to me, rubbing her arm like she always did when she got nervous.

“Looks like we did it, huh, Slick?” she climbed up next to me, leaning against my side. I wrapped an arm around her, holding her as close as I could.

“For the most part, yeah,” I scanned the room, my nerves still on edge. Paul and Trevor were talking to their parents, Mercy and Fru laughing about something, a few other mammals watching us, either silently thanking or blaming us. I didn’t really care which.“You cops did all the real work, all I did was find some stuff.”

She smiled at me.

“You all did a lot more than that,” she said. “Without you, I don’t think we ever would have solved this, or it would’ve taken three times as long.”

I chuckled, laying my tail in her lap. She hesitated before running her paws through my fur, giggling when I choked on a groan, snapping it back from her.

“Okay, you’re not allowed to touch my tail in public again,” I kissed the top of her head, letting my nose linger in her fur. “But I’ll still let you do whatever you want to it in private.”

She hummed, then shook her head.

“I’ll only agree to that if you stop messing with my ears in public, Wilde,” she twisted to face me. “And we both know that’s never going to happen, so I’m afraid you’re out of luck there, sweetheart.”

She grabbed my tail and pulled it back in her lap, it almost felt like she was hiding behind it as we kept watching the room. After a little while sitting in the quiet, she perked up and faced me again.

“Oh, Mercy talked Paul and Trevor into doing karaoke this weekend, to celebrate kind of closing the case,” she ran a paw through my fur. “Think you’ll want to come with us?”

I tensed, turning away from her. It was a hang-up that didn’t even make sense to me: I could perform in front of a hundred thousand mammals without a problem, but smaller places like a bar or a park? I basically shut down.

“I-I don’t know,” I rubbed the scars on my neck. “I was thinking of looking into the Night Howler drug a bit more, see if I could find out who’s been buying it or—”

“Nick, we’ve got squads at every precinct tying up those loose ends,” she cut me off. “They’ll finish it a lot faster than we ever could.”

She stretched up and kissed my nose.

“And you know Mercy and I won’t stop bugging you until you agree to do, so you might as well just save us all the trouble.”

She stood, biting my ear before slowly licking it. I shivered; no wonder she loved it so much.

“And who knows?” she whispered. “I might even let you _play_ with me afterward…”

I perked up, silently thanking whoever had invented baggy shorts as I bit back a groan, then turned to kiss her.

“You got yourself a deal, sweetheart,” I kissed her again. “But we’ll have to do it _my_ way this time.”

She licked her lips, a sweet smell touching my nose as her eyes heated it up.

“I’m already looking forward to it, Slick.”

* * *

“So wait, you all just decided the band was over?”

Trevor stared at us; he and Paul had dropped by after spending the last two days with their parents, and Mercy just had to blurt it out.

“Not right away,” I straightened in my seat. “I was thinking the next album or the one after would be the last one. I mean, Paul and Mercy are going to be cops, and I’m getting my PI badge, so we won’t really have time for it. Besides—”

“It’s already been twelve years, bro, fifteen if we wait for the next two albums,” Paul crossed his arms. “Isn’t that long enough?”

Trevor shook his head.

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” he rubbed a paw over his face. “What I meant what, you all just decided this, without letting me in on it?”

“We, uh, couldn’t really ask you, Trev,” Mercy curled up in the recliner, playing with her tail. She’d always been kind of nervous around him. “We’d already been helping Judy for a few months when it came up, and you weren’t exactly, um…”

“You’d already gone savage,” I said bluntly, then leaned forward and put my paws on my knees. “And it was never anything concrete anyway. We weren’t just going to disband without hearing how you felt about it first.”

I rubbed the back of my neck.

“Judy said you got a criminal justice degree like she did, and I was kind of hoping you’d be my parter in all this.”

I glanced up when he didn’t answer, seeing his expression had barely changed.

“Please, Trevor?” Mercy started. “Judy’s going to help Paul and me get ready for the academy, we’re both going to try getting assigned to Precinct One, and she and Nick can help you get your PI badge, too!”

“We’ll still be a team,” Paul put in. “And we’ll be able to help a lot more mammals this way.”

“And we don’t have to stop the band all together,” I added. “It’ll just have to be a side project now, instead of our main thing. What do you think about that?”

Again, his face didn’t change, and it felt like hours had crawled by before he finally sighed.

“Give me a few days,” he got up and stretched. “I’ll let you guys know next week.”

He walked out, not looking back.

“Wow, I knew the band was important to him, but I didn’t think he’d get this pissed,” Paul fell back on the couch. “We should’ve given him more time before saying anything about it.”

I scratched the side of my neck.

“Yeah, it wasn’t cool to spring it on him like this, but we wouldn’t have had to if _somebody_ ,” I turned to Mercy. “Didn’t suck ass at keeping secrets.”

Her face went red, and she slumped further in her seat.

“I know, I’m sorry I have such a big mouth,” she swallowed. “I’m just not used to being able to say whatever I want, guess I’ll have to work on it before we hit the academy.”

“Speaking of which,” Paul sat up. “When does the next class start again?”

I had to think for a second.

“Uh, only about a month, and you’ll be there for nine,” I jammed my paws under me, I’d go bald if I kept scratching. “From what Carrots said, it’s pretty brutal, but you shouldn’t have a problem if she’s helping you out.”

Mercy shuddered.

“She showed me some pictures she took when she had to help teach a class there, I don’t think we’ll ever be ready,” she swallowed again, the smile she threw on nervous and shaky. “But we can at least get as close as we can, right?”

“You know it,” Paul got to his feet. “But you know she’ll probably try to rope you into it, too, Nick.”

I laughed.

“She already did, but we all know I can handle it, it’s you two softies I’m worried about.”

“Softies!” Mercy jumped up. “I could bench-press you without trying, brush tail!”

I laughed again.

“I’m barely half your size, so that’s not saying much,” I jumped back when we swiped at me. “And you’re going to need a lot more than that if you expect to make it through.”

“He’s right, I just got an email from Judy about it,” Paul scrolled through something on his phone. “I don’t know how we’ll get started on even half this stuff before we have to head out…”

Mercy’s ears dropped, and she fell back in her chair.

“M-Maybe we could just wait until the next class, then?”

I shook my head.

“I don’t think that’d be the best idea, the chief pulled a lot of strings to get you the last spots in this class,” I didn’t see the point in keeping it from them. “You really want to risk getting on his bad side because you decided to go later?”

Paul shivered. None of us had really seen Bogo in a bad mood, but it didn’t take much to imagine what it would be like.

“You’re right, it’d be better not to,” he said. “Especially if we’re going to work for him.”

Mercy glanced between us, then sighed.

“I guess you’re right,” she perked up again, it had been a lot easier for her to stay happy since she’d gotten away from Brandon, and her family. “So we better get started!”

* * *

_“Come on, Fin, you almost got it!”_

_Fin wobbled, gurgling as I held him up, sitting on my knees and watching his feet. It was raining again, and I’d spent all morning trying to make him walk._

_“Nicky,” Daddy laughed, watching us from the couch. “Fin can’t even stand yet, it’ll be a while before he can walk.”_

_“He can do it!” I took a paw off Fin’s diaper and grabbed his, keeping him on his feet while he kept wobbling. “He’ll get it this time!”_

_I took my other paw off his diaper, which turned out to be a bad idea. He wobbled again, then fell down and started crying. I rolled him over, nuzzling his tummy like Mommy and Daddy did, making him laugh when I blew and made a big fart sound. He grabbed my nose when I tried sitting up, making that funny gurgling sound._

_“N-uh…N-uh…” his ears flicked. “Nich! Nich!”_

_I looked up when Daddy gasped, he was crying._

_“Oh, where’s my camera when I need it?”_

I cringed, shoving the memory back. Fin’s first word hadn’t been ‘Mommy’ or ‘Daddy like most kids, it’d been my name. Even when he’d been way too young to understand, he’d loved me that much, and I’d let him down.

 _I’m sorry, Fin,_ it was still kind of weird, not feeling that pain in my chest when I thought about him. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t still feel guilty, but ever since I’d met Judy, I’d started feeling lighter every time we talked. I couldn’t explain it, but I couldn’t complain about it, either.

“And mammals say girls take a long time to get dressed…”

I turned, my jaw dropping a bit when I saw her. Her outfit wasn’t anything special: her usual black leggings and a shirt that hung off one shoulder, but there was something about the way she just glowed that drew me in. I looked away, had to clear my throat before I could manage to smirk at her.

“It takes a lot more than rolling out of bed to look this good, Fluff, it’s a full-time job!”

She rolled her eyes, shutting the door behind her as she came in.

“No one looks good in those tacky Pawaiian shirts,” she hopped up and snatched it off my bed. I’d spent about the last half hour staring at it while I’d been lost in my head. “And how weird would it look if you were the only one wearing slacks?”

She swiped them from me and went to my dresser, folding them and tossing them on top. I groaned, rubbing a paw over my face when she started digging through the bottom drawers. At least it gave me a nice view of her ass.

“Those shirts are all silk, Carrots,” I crossed my arms. “And they’re not tacky, they’re comfortable!”

She snorted, pulled out a pair of cargo pants and threw them at me without looking. I’d forgotten I even owned them.

“Yeah, and nothing says ‘don’t take me seriously’ like a pink and white silk shirt,” she shut the drawer and turned to me. “Or do you want mammals to think they’re talking to a pile of cotton candy?”

As funny as that image was, I didn’t like mammals laughing at my style. I flipped her off, but tugged on the pants anyway, knowing trying to argue my way out of it would just waste time. And I figured I might as well get used to it now, since I didn’t see much chance of it changing in the future.

“Okay, I’m lost,” she walked out of my closet. When had she even gone in there? “How can you have those silk eyesores in so many colors, yet not seem to know what a plain T-shirt is?”

I rolled my eyes.

“I’ve got plenty of them, I just usually work-out or do projects in them, I don’t really wear them out,” I went to my dresser, digging through one of the drawers she couldn’t reach. “But since you’re so intent on me wearing one, I’ve got a few I actually keep clean.”

I pulled out a black tank top and tugged it on, smoothing it down as I turned to her.

“But I don’t really get why it’s such a big deal to you all of a…” I trailed off, my nose twitching as I picked up the sudden shift in her scent. She was staring at me, biting her lip as she messed with the ear flopped over her shoulder. It was hard to miss how red the inside was. “What?”

She blushed harder, if that were possible.

“N-Nothing,” her teeth tightened on her lip. “Y-You just look really hot right now…”

I glanced down, thinking I could be a bit more open about wearing it, if she liked it that much. I looked back to her, flashing the smile that made just about every girl melt.

“You’re not looking too bad yourself, sweetheart,” I walked over and knelt in front of her, tilted her chin toward me when she turned away. “But I’m not sure why you still get all shy like this around me.”

She rubbed her arm, staring at the floor.

“I-I don’t really know why, it just happens,” she looked at me. “This is the longest relationship I’ve ever had, and you’re the only one who never tried to talk me out of my dreams…”

She sighed, taking my wrist as she turned back to the floor.

“I guess I’m just wondering what I did to deserve you.”

I blinked, then chuckled.

“If anyone should be saying that, it’s me, Fluff,” I held her paws. “I’ve been pretty selfish most of my life, and I’ve done _a lot_ of screwed up shit, and all you’ve ever done is inspire mammals. You make everyone around you want to do better, to _be_ better.”

I folded my ears back, knowing not even my fur could hide how red they were.

“And as cheesy as it sounds, you were a light that showed up during one of the darkest parts of my life, and unlike me, you never let that light fade,” I put a paw on her waist and pulled her against me. “I’ll always admire you for that, Judy, and no matter what happens in the future, I promise I’ll always be there for you.”

I hugged her tightly, knowing I wouldn’t be able to stop myself if I kissed her. She hugged me back, burying her nose in my neck.

“You’ve taught me a lot, too, Nick,” she started. “I didn’t realize how narrow my worldview was until I met you.”

She pulled back, her ears flat against her head.

“I grew up thinking the world was black and white, that mammals were either good or bad, but you’ve all shown me just how colorful the world is, and that just because you know a mammal, may even be related to them…”

She traced a paw down my muzzle, her eyes filling with tears.

“You’ll still never know just how deep their hatred, or whatever drives them might run, or what they’re willing to do to get what they want,” her paw slipped to my chest. “You made me realize it’s impossible to do everything on my own, and that I shouldn’t force myself to try. Everything’s so much easier when you have a team behind you, when you have mammals you can trust with your life.”

She blinked, swiping at her face with her arm.

“It took me way too long to realize you, Mercy, Paul and now Trevor _are_ that team, and I know it’s only going to keep getting bigger,” she smiled, tears starting to leak down her cheeks, then cleared her throat. “W-What I’m trying to say is…thank you, Nick, all of you. For everything you’ve done and I know you will do. You’ve inspired me just as much, and I hope we can keep what we have, no matter what happens between now and then.”

She hugged me again, and this time I couldn’t stop myself from kissing her. I dragged my claws down her side, my fur standing on end at her breathy little moan. She combed hers through the fur on the back of my neck, pressing against me as her tongue slid past my lips.

“W-We still have a while before we have to leave,” she moaned again when she pulled away, the new, thick sweetness in her scent telling me exactly what she was ready for. “P-Please, Nick, help me…”

I groaned, shoving my paws under her shirt before yanking it off. I leaned in and bit her lip, loving her shaky gasp when I trailed my nose down to her chest.

“I’ll do whatever you tell me to, Judy,” I licked her fur, then bit down. “You’ve got me wrapped around your finger…”

She giggled, taking my paw before dragging me to the bed.

“Good, because it’s time to put yours to use,” she glanced back at me, flashing the hottest grin I’d ever seen from her. “Then, it’s my turn.”


	15. Chapter 15

Mercy was the only one there when we showed up at the karaoke bar, about an hour after we’d all agreed to meet, lying in one of the biggest booths in the place. It was pretty packed, just like any other Friday night. Carrots pressed against my side when a group of rabbit bucks went past us, either leering at her or glaring at me. I tightened my grip on her paw, flashing a smile.

“They just know they’ll never have a chance with you,” I whispered, then kissed the tip of her ear. She bit her lip, groaning as we climbed into the booth; Mercy sat up and slid her phone across the table.

“Hey, guys,” she sounded kind of miffed.

“Hey, Mercy,” Carrots glanced around. “Where are Paul and Trevor?”

“Their parents are still freaked about the whole ‘going savage’ thing, it takes a lot for them to let those two out of their sight,” she shrugged. “Paul said they should be here soon, though, for about the sixth time in a row.”

Carrots chuckled, standing on the seat and going for the book on the table.

“So, why’d you pick this place?”

“You’ve never been here before,” Mercy crossed her legs, leaning back on her paws. “They have awesome food, and the karaoke, of course!”

“Oh, right!” Carrots grabbed the book and started flipping through it. She’d only gotten a few pages in when Paul and Trevor finally showed up, Paul rubbing his forehead like he was trying to wipe something off.

“Ugh, thought they’d _never_ let us go!”

“I know,” Trevor slumped over the table next to him. “I don’t think I’ll ever get this off!”

They glared at Mercy, who’d started snickering.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Snowdrift!”

She lost it, tears soaking her face as she tried to breathe.

“I-I can’t help it,” she cracked up again. “You guys have been scent-marked so much I can barely even smell you past them!”

Even Carrots was giggling a bit.

“Their parents are just scared, Mercy,” she started. “Over half of my siblings are married with a dozen or more kids, and my parents _still_ scent-mark them every chance they get!”

Trevor sat up.

“Isn’t that normal for bunnies, though? You guys are pretty protective of each other, right?”

“Well, yes,” she shrugged. “But it’s only been a couple months since the Night Howler and Baby Blues cases ended. I’m sure as time goes on, they’ll calm down.”

I kept a close eye on her as she talked, looking for the signs she’d been putting out the last few weeks. It’d taken half that time just for her to stop breaking down every time it was mentioned on the news, and I knew she still wasn’t over everything her uncle had pulled. Whenever she had to talk about it, the tips of her ears would twitch, or her nose or tail, and her eyes would gloss over with tears before she blinked them away. But at least she wasn’t trying to shut it off completely like she had after that sniper at the press conference. I’d smelled tears every time I’d picked her up at her place, and I’d seen half-dried spots on her clothes more than once.

I had to stop myself from putting my arm around her, since she’d jabbed me pretty hard in the ribs the last few times I’d tried. A few seconds passed before she swallowed, hard, going back to the book lying open in front of her.

“They’ve got a lot of Gazelle,” she muttered to herself. “No surprise there, but it’s not what I’m in the mood for…”

That was a surprise, since it was pretty much all she listened to, but I wasn’t about to complain. She flipped to a random page, scanned a few names, then squealed.

“Ooh, Mercy, look, they have Paula Abmule!”

“Really?” Mercy jumped at the song book. “Ooh, Judy, look what song they have! We _have_ to sing that one!”

“Obviously!” Judy laughed again. “It’s one of my favorites!”

“Mine, too,” Mercy tugged on her. “Come on, let’s go tell them!”

They shot off to whoever was in charge of the songs, leaving us guys staring at each other like they’d just grown wings.

“Uh, you guys follow any of that?” Trevor asked. I crossed my arms.

“Nope.”

“Not a word,” Paul shook his head, then went for the book. “How about you and I do one, Nick?”

I froze, sinking back into the seat.

“Uh, I-I don’t know…”

Paul looked at me, then rolled his eyes.

“This is the only thing I’ve never gotten about you,” he slid closer, setting the book between us. “Screaming crowds of a hundred thousand, no problem. But any place that only fits a few hundred, max, total stage fright. It makes no freaking sense!”

I scoffed.

“You think I don’t know that?” I glared at him, still trying to push the stupid fear down. “I don’t even get why it happens, it just does!”

Trevor shook his head. He was the only one of us who couldn’t sing, or even hold a note.

“If a little bunny can do it, I’m sure you can handle it,” he smirked at me. “Or are you just scared you’ll screw up in front of her?”

My tail thumped against the seat. I didn’t have any problem admitting when I wanted to chicken out, but I’d never been able to handle when other mammals pointed it out.

“Of course that’s not it,” I forced myself not to stammer. “This started before I even knew she existed!”

They just laughed, turning to the stage at the other end of the room as the lights dimmed, the music getting shut off as the owner announced the first song of the night.

“Give it up for these lovely ladies, folks!”

Most of the mammals around us cheered, and I could tell I wasn’t the only one bristling when a few of them threw out wolf whistles and cat calls. Trevor laughed.

“Oh, so now you’re chicken _and_ jealous,” he glanced at Paul as he pushed the book toward me. “You could always go up after them, tough guy.”

I hesitated, the crowd chilling as the song started, some pop tune I vaguely remembered being big when I was a kit.

“He’s a cold-hearted snake,” Mercy launched right into it, just like always. “Look into his eyes, oh, oh, he’s been telling lies!”

I’d probably heard her sing thousands of times, but it never stopped hitting me just how amazing she was. Professional voice lessons were pretty much the only decent thing her parents had done for her. Carrots just danced through the first couple verses, drawing a few more calls that pissed me off, and I knew my jaw wasn’t the only one that dropped when she started.

“It was only late last night, he was out there sneakin’, then he called you up to check that you were waiting by the phone,” her smile lit the stage in a way lights never could, and I couldn’t even begin to describe her voice. It was just…incredible, perfect. “All the world’s a candy store, he’s been trick or treatin’…”

I zoned out after that, wondering why she’d become a cop when she could sing like that, but it didn’t take long to figure out. She didn’t care about fame, just helping mammals, and a cop was one of the best ways to do that.

I pulled out of it when the song ended, the whole place going crazy as they walked off the stage, both looking completely embarrassed. They slid in past me and sat down, still trying to avoideye contact with anyone.

“Oh, wow, I can _not_ believe I just did that,” Carrots laughed, leaning against my side. “What did you think, Nick?”

I kept staring at her, then finally got my mouth to work.

“I think we just found our new back-up singer!”

I didn’t think it was possible for her to blush any more, but she managed it.

“Y-You really think I’m that good?”

Paul leaned over the table.

“You’re freaking awesome, Judy!”

“Yeah, you really are,” Mercy beamed at her. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

She pressed her paws to her mouth, burying her face in my side.

“Because it’s so embarrassing! I usually hate it when anyone hears me sing!”

“Why?” even Trevor actually looked impressed. “Where’d you learn to belt it out like that?”

She barely peeked out from my shirt.

“M-My grandmother,” she bit her lip. “I-I never thought I was that good, but my family wanted me to follow in her footsteps, so she used every second she could to teach me.”

She buried her face in my side again, her blush flaring a bit longer before finally fading. I wrapped an arm around her, nuzzling the top of her head.

“Well, you’re incredible, and now I’m not going to stop reminding you, so you’ll just have to get used to it.”

She groaned, then tilted her head back, resting her chin on my side.

“I’ll only let you do that if you sing something now,” she smirked. “I want to hear what you sound like when you’re not auto-tuned to oblivion.”

I scoffed, putting a paw on my chest.

“How dare you, I never use autotune!” I actually hated it when studios used that crap on us. We all laughed, then Paul grabbed the book and flipped back to the first few pages.

“Come on, I even said I’d go up there with you,” he turned it toward me, pointing to one near the middle of the page. “And I just found the perfect one.”

I tried to smile, still pushing my nerves down.

“Looks like you’ll get your wish, Fluff,” I kissed her forehead. “Prepare to have your mind blown.”

 _And try not to laugh too hard if I screw up,_ I added silently. She tugged on my tail when I tried to get up, Paul going ahead to the guy in charge.

“You better try up there,” she whispered smugly. “Or round two’s going to be cut short.”

She let me go and sat back, her eyes heating up as the owner announced us.

“Looks like we got all of Savage Wilde here tonight, folks! Make some noise for Wilde and King!”

The whole place went nuts. I swallowed, grabbing the mic and forcing myself to chill. I focused on Carrots as the song started, hoping to block out the rest of the crowd.

“I never knew there’d come a day, when I’d be saying to you,” I managed not to screw up somehow, I actually sounded even better than when we recorded. “Don’t let this good love slip away, now that we know that it’s true!

“Don’t, don’t you know the kind of male I am? No, said I’d never fall in love again,” I smiled at her, my heart racing when she smiled back. “But it’s real, and the feeling comes shining through!”

Paul kicked in at the chorus, and it didn’t take long to see who he was focused on. His voice was deeper, smoother than it was when we were messing around, telling me he really was taking it seriously.

“I’m so caught up in you, little girl, that I never did suspect that I’d be, so caught up in you, little girl, that I never want to get myself free…”

We could barely hear ourselves when every girl in the place started screaming again, but all that mattered were those two faces in the crowd, the only girls either of us had eyes for. I barely noticed when the song ended, the cheers getting louder as we got off the stage. Carrots ran up to me, hanging from my neck as I wrapped my arms around her.

“Oh, Nick, that was perfect!” she kissed me. “Both of you were amazing!”

I chuckled, rubbing my cheek along hers.

“And I don’t know about Paul, but I meant every word of it.”

He pushed my shoulder.

“Of course I did,” he said. “I’ve got a girl, too!”

Mercy laughed.

“And I’m glad you meant it,” she put her arms on his shoulders. “Because I’m not about to let you go, lynx-boy.”

He gulped, his ears going red as he pressed them flat against his head.

“O-Oh boy…”

* * *

 “So, wait, your grandma was _the_ Amelia Weston?”

Paul hadn’t stopped gawking at Carrots since we’d left the karaoke place, when she’d told them who had taught her to sing. She laughed, her paw tightening on mine.

“Yep, she taught as many of us to sing as she could, even before she retired,” she turned to the street. Trevor and I had parked around the corner from her apartment building, honestly one of the worst ones in Savanna Central, the Grand Pangolin Arms. “She and my parents wanted at least half of us to be singers, and if I hadn’t decided to be a cop, that’s likely what I would’ve ended up doing.”

“So, why did you want to be a cop so badly, Judy?” Mercy asked. Carrots thought a second, glancing at the sky before turning back to us. I’d already heard all of this, but I couldn’t remember if she’d ever told the others or not.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve wanted to help others, and I thought a cop was the best way to do that,” she chuckled. “And every time someone told me I couldn’t do it, it just made me more determined to prove them wrong.”

“And now look at you,” Trevor actually sounded impressed. “Not only are you the first bunny cop, but you’re one of the best in the ZPD, if all those news stations are telling the truth for once.”

She flushed, her ears flicking down before she forced them back up.

“We all know they’re exaggerating half of it,” she said. “And they’re not giving you guys the credit you deserve.”

Paul shrugged.

“Not like it’s a big deal, we’re already on the news enough,” he perked up. “Ooh, did I ever tell you that Nick pretty much single-pawedly made it so mixed-species couples could—”

He cut off at a loud noise, almost like thunder under water, followed by flickering light, a lot of screaming and the smell of smoke.

“T-That’s coming from my building…” Judy dropped my paw and took off, the rest of us not far behind. I slid to a stop on some loose gravel in the parking lot, my jaw dropping when I saw what had happened. Mammals ranging from weasels to gazelles were crowded at the other end of the lot, staring or pointing at some third story windows. They looked like they’d been smashed from the inside, the flames already starting to spread. Smoke hazed across the moon, most of the debris still on fire as it fell to the ground. I was almost knocked off my feet by another explosion, panic spiking through the crowd when another line of windows blew out, broken glass raining down around a slumped, shaking figure. Even with all the other noise, I could still hear her crying.

“No! No…”

I ran over, dropping to my knees behind her, putting my paws on her shoulders.

“Judy…”

It was apparently all she needed to let herself break down completely. She turned and threw herself at me, burying her face in my chest. I clung to her just like she did to me, stroking her ears as I buried my nose in the fur between them.

 _One of those apartments must’ve been hers,_ I stated the obvious to myself. _But I’m sure she’s more upset about other mammals getting hurt from this._

She sniffled, wiping her nose on her sleeve.

“T-They were fumigating this week, complimentary once a month,” she managed to laugh, sounding almost hysterical. “S-So the building was empty…at least…”

She burrowed into my shirt again, her shaking getting worse when sirens started screaming behind us.

“Everybody get back! We have to get this fire under control!”

I tried to tune everything out after that, putting all my focus on the girl in my arms. I tightened my hold on her, forcing back my own tears as I rubbed her head, smoothing over her ears and tracing my claws down her side. Her breath hitched more than once as her fit calmed down, and she pressed herself as close as she could before nuzzling under my chin.

“I-I think I’m all right, for now,” she grabbed my shirt, her other paw slipping around my back. “Please, Nick, just…hold me for a while…”

I nodded, shifting until I could hold her in my lap. As much as the fire kept everyone’s attention, it was hard to miss the mammals that had started staring at us, and it wasn’t easy to ignore what they said, either.

“I saw those two on the news a few weeks ago, so disgusting…”

“A bunny cop is bad enough, but now she’s… _involved_ with that dirty pelt…”

“I’d still tap that, once she came to her senses…”

“I wouldn’t, who knows what she’s caught from him…”

I shoved down the urge to snap at them, turning to Judy when she pushed back from me; her eyes were puffed and red, her nose twitching. But she seemed to have stopped crying, at least for now.

“L-Looks like I’ll be crashing at your place again, huh?” she managed to blush, then looked away. “T-That is, if you still want me there…”

I brushed a claw over her lips, tilting her head back to tap her nose with mine.

“Of course I do, Fluff,” I kissed her, my ears dropping when I ended it. “A-And I know this is the worst time possible to bring it up, but I’ve actually been thinking about asking you to move in with me, anyway…”

I all but mouthed the last of it, but I should’ve known she’d still hear it, her ears perking up as they went bright pink.

“O-Of course I will, Nick,” she draped her arms over my shoulders. “But I guess I kind of live there already, though, huh?”

I chuckled a bit. Pretty much everything she owned was already set up in the room I’d given her at my place, we’d just come here to see if the building was clear so she could grab the last of her stuff. I kissed her again, just about to get lost in it when something hit my arm; I looked down, my jaw dropping when I saw the sooty, ripped off head of a plush toy, a rolled up bit of paper stuck in the stuffing at the neck. Even if it hadn’t been a fox, it didn’t take much guesswork to figure out who the threat was aimed at. Judy looked like she was fighting tears again when she reached for it, her paws shaking when she pulled the scrap out, holding the head to her chest as she unrolled it. I couldn’t miss the fear in her gasp when we saw what was written on it.

_Gray safari listed heat vase4 Heat zorro ember zorro tundra vase4 Zorro gray gray zorro xenia past heat4 Dawn vase indigo vase4 Quest forest heat gray4 Heat gray vase kite4 Listed mud vase43 Mud rain xenia past base43 Mud listed dawn4 Rain4 Zorro north4 Tundra listed rain north tundra4 Gray listed4 Indigo rain kite4 Base listed forest indigo4 Open rain under vase4 Zorro kite zorro indigo gray4 Zorro mud west4 Under vase vase west4 Rain gray4 Gray listed4 Base listed forest43 Kite rain vase xenia vase4 Yet base4 Under forest xenia past rain mud tundra4 Kite rain vase xenia vase40 West listed4 Gray safari vase4 Heat north zorro indigo gray4 Gray safari rain mud tundra4 Under listed indigo4 Listed mud xenia vase4 Zorro mud west4 Listed under under4 Base listed forest indigo heat vase open under4 Yet vase under listed indigo vase4 Rain4 Gray zorro past vase4 Gray listed listed4 North forest xenia safari40 Rain4 Zorro north4 Dawn zorro gray xenia safari rain mud tundra4 Base listed forest40_

I focused back on the crowd, a low growl in my throat as I scanned every mammal for the smallest tell, but they’d all completely forgotten about us. Getting even more worked up when they saw the fire department was just making things worse.

“Water’s not working, Chief,” an ibex ran up to an old bobcat, both in full fire gear. “Neither’s the foam or the extinguishers, I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“Neither have I,” the chief barked orders into the radio strapped to his shoulder, telling his team to try whatever else they could think of. I already knew there wouldn’t be a point; a fire accelerant that just reacted more violently to anything firefighters might throw at it? I’d only seen it a few times before, and I’d once been very close to the mammal who’d created it.

I looked at the crowd again, trying to sort through the noise and smells, but other than Judy and the rest of our group, none of it was familiar. Seeing that old code again hadn’t done anything to help my focus, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up missing something. My gut tightened when I caught movement at the edge, almost like someone was trying to avoid being noticed. My ears perked forward as mammals started to complain about being shoved or having something stepped on, and then the world slipped away again.

My eyes locked on the mammal, my blood running cold when I saw their glare, the hatred on their face.

A face I’d been trying to forget for the last decade.

“ _D-Delilah…_ ”

* * *

 “Now, are you sure you saw her, Nick?”

Rocco leaned back when I growled at him, but I knew he wasn’t actually afraid of me. He was one of the only mammals who never had been.

“Of course I’m sure,” I snapped, I hadn’t been able to calm down since. “I’d know her fucking face anywhere!”

It had been almost ten years since I’d seen her, three since I’d even really thought about her, but now it was obvious that she’d bombed the Grand Pangolin Arms. It didn’t matter that the building had been empty, or that it would likely be demolished soon anyway, whoever she was working for was still targeting innocent mammals. And all because she was still trying to get back at me for dumping her pathetic ass.

 _This went way too far a long time ago,_ I growled again, then jumped to my feet. _I have to stop them before they kill someone!_

“Hey, wait!”Rocco got up from his chair. “Where are you going?”

I caught myself on the doorframe, glaring at him over my shoulder. This time, he did step back.

“I just remembered I have a very important call to make.”

I ran to my room, grabbing my phone from the nightstand and pacing as I unlocked it.

_Looks like I was right._

I’d deleted her number years ago, even though I doubted I’d ever forget it, thinking she hadn’t changed a bit since we’d dated.

_‘it’s been such a Long timE, hasn’T iT, nicky? fingers crossed you still remember me!’_

“Trust me, bitch,” I muttered. “I really wish I didn’t.”

_‘and now tHat you’vE finally started to fiGure out whAt’s going on, how about we Make things morE interesting?’_

They were already more than “interesting” enough for me, but she’d always had to get the last word in.

 _’it’s just too Bad your “littlE” friends had to Get caught up In our feud agaiN,’_ I kept reading, no matter how much I wanted to throw my phone against the wall, and go out and wring her damn neck. _‘but since theY are, it’s Only fair that they get to play, too, so i’m going to make yoU a deal.’_

A deal? What the hell was she talking about?

_‘before you finish Reading this, one of theM will have already been targeted, and yOur job is to figure out which one it is, if you want to keep them aliVe, and if you’rE as Smart as you were back then, i doubt you’ll have a problem.’_

I growled again, my claws starting to scrape the edges of my phone screen. Even with all the shit she’d pulled, I’d never thought she would go this low.

_‘i Will givE you one, clue: thEy know whaT it’s like to eat a once-living tHing. that should rEally help nArrow things down, don’t you think?’_

I was almost seeing red when I finally reached the last text.

_‘better huRry, Though, nicky, i can only give you so long! have fun!’_

I could barely think when I finally finished, barely noticing when my legs gave out. My whole body had gone numb, my paws shaking so hard my phone clattered to the floor. As crazy as Delilah was, I didn’t want to believe she’d actually be part of something like this. Yeah, she was a thief, a liar and a chest, possessive, flirty and jealous, but while she’d manipulate mammals to get what she wanted, she’d never actually hurt them. As fast as I’d learned the lines she wouldn’t cross, I’d never come close to finding out what had screwed her up like that. A lot of mammals were just born that way, maybe she was one of them.

 _I don’t have time to think about that now,_ I grabbed my phone and got back to my feet. _I have to figure out who she’s going after!_

I looked through the messages again, focusing on the other message she’d left me: let the game begin, your move, sweetheart, and her other “little” clue. If it were anyone else, I would’ve thought she’d meant Zariah or Yumiko, but hurting kids was one of the only things she wasn’t capable of. “Once-living thing” could’ve meant just about everyone I knew. Who the hell could it be?

“Nick?” Judy tapped on the door and poked her head in. “I was just coming to get you, then Rocco said you’d run off. I made us all dinner!”

“Really,” I shoved my phone in my pocket. I hadn’t eaten since this morning, but as hungry as I was, I knew I didn’t have time for it, not if I wanted to find her target before it was too late. She nodded.

“Yeah, I made an old family alfredo recipe, with a couple twists, of course.”

I chuckled.

“Of course you did, because you just hate following the rules.”

She snorted.

“You’re one to talk, Mr. Street Enforcer,” she crossed her arms. “So, are you going to come eat, or am I going to have to use The Look to make you?”

I rolled my eyes.

“All right, fine, I’m coming,” I shoved my paws in my pockets so she wouldn’t catch how nervous I was. “So, what carrot-choked thing are you going to torture us with tonight?”

She glared at me, but there wasn’t any real heat in it.

“That’s one of the twists,” she put her paws on her hips. “I actually can’t stand carrots, so I went with shrimp instead. And I cooked it separately, since you’re the only one who doesn’t like meat.”

I stared at her.

“Wait, what?”

She nodded.

“Yeah, a friend dared me to try it at work, and I actually liked it. I know it’s weird,” she went on. “And I can’t eat it too often, because, you know, prey, but I still treat myself with it once in a while.”

She looked at me, then huffed again.

“Jeez, I didn’t think it was _that_ big a deal.”

I blinked, then shook my head, throwing on a mask even she wouldn’t be able to see through.

“There’s just something really wrong about a bunny eating shrimp, Fluff,” I walked past her, flicking my tail across the backs of her legs. She scoffed.

“What’s so wrong with it?” she hopped next to me. “Foxes get to be omnivorous, so why not bunnies?”

I managed to smirk.

“That’s different, we evolved like that,” I glanced down at her. “You guys evolved to eat salad and lawn clippings.”

She groaned, then tried to slug me, her glare getting worse when I caught her fist.

“Easy, I’m just messing with you, Fluff!” I brought our paws down, threading my fingers through hers. I sighed, my smirk falling. “And I was kind of lying when I said I don’t eat meat. I’m a pred, so going full vegetarian isn’t the best idea. I don’t like it, but I do eat fish once in a while, because there are things I get from it that I just can’t from fruit and veggies.”

She looked at me again.

“But they have all kinds of plant-based supplements and substitutes for that, don’t they?”

I nodded.

“I know, and that’s what I use most of the time, but they don’t always do the job,” I swallowed. “There are times I just need the real thing, as sick as it makes me feel.”

“Because you were raised by prey.”

She stopped when we got to the stairs, sitting on the step and pulling me down with her. I put my arm around her, not sure what else to do as the silence stretched out.

“I-I heard everyone talking,” she finally said, her voice low. “About Delilah; I thought you said she disappeared after you kicked her out?”

I shrugged, barely able to look at her.

“This is the first sign there’s been of her since then,” I told her. “Sh-She threatened to—”

“Hey guys, the food’s starting to get cold!” Mercy watched up from the foot of the stairs. “You okay up there?”

“We’re fine!” Carrots jumped back to her feet, looking over her shoulder as she dragged me with her. She lowered her voice until she was barely whispering. “We’ll finish this talk later.”

I just nodded, still hoping she couldn’t pick up on how freaked I was.

_‘Those savage attacks were just step one, Nicky, now I am going to rip your life apart and feed it to you, piece by fucking piece. Do the smart thing for once and off yourself before I take too much. I am watching you.’_

* * *

 “Mom, it’s okay, I’m…Mom, please…Mom, enough!”

ZNN had barely started running the story about the Grand Pangolin Arms bombing when Carrots’ phone had started going crazy. She hadn’t bothered trying to ignore it like she had last time, since Ed had threatened to eat her if she didn’t make them stop. And just like then, they barely let her get a word in.

 _“I knew this would happen if we let you go,”_ her dad sounded like he was on the verge of a heart attack. _“We’re coming to get you this instant, young lady!”_

She groaned, loudly.

“Dad, that’s really not necessary,” she tried to talk over him. “No one was even _in_ the building when it happened! No one was hurt!”

 _“That is_ not _the point, Jude,”_ he sounded even more freaked out. _“The point is, you’ve been in over your head since you got there, and it’s about time you came back and_ stopped _putting yourself in danger for no reason!”_

She started to growl, then shoved out a breath and shook her head.

“The paperwork’s already gone through on my transfer, it would be way too much of a hassle to reverse it so soon. Besides,” she managed to smile. “Nick asked me to move in with him, so I’m about as safe as I could be now!”

I cringed as she said it, glad her parents couldn’t see me. There hadn’t been anything from Delilah, or whoever she was working with, since those messages two nights ago, and I still had no idea who her target was supposed to be. I was starting to think she’d just been trying to scare me, or had it just been an over-the-top way of admitted she’d planted that bomb in the first place?

 _She_ would _leave something like that just hanging, though,_ I leaned back over my notebook, scratching out a few lines before sketching random crap in the margin. _After all, one of her favorite things to do is screw with mammals…_

I looked up when her dad sputtered, and it was hard not to laugh as he failed to form a complete sentence.

 _“J-Jude, that’s…how could…wha…huh?!”_ there was some kind of slapping sound, like he’d just smacked himself. _“T-That is_ not _how we raised you, Judy! I-It’s bad enough that you two rutted under our roof, b-but now you’re_ living _with him? B-Before you’re even engaged?!”_

She rolled her eyes.

“News flash, Dad, it’s _not_ 1969 anymore, things are different now!” she got that sly, sexy smirk that drove me nuts. “I’m also still on the pill, _and_ we’ve been using condoms since we got back, so you won’t be getting any grandkids from us!”

We also hadn’t really fucked since we’d gotten back, but where was the fun in telling them that? He choked, then started sputtering again. I could imagine the freaked out look on his face, and I doubt it got any better once her mom started talking.

 _“We’re just worried you might be moving a little fast, sweetheart. We know he’s a good mammal,”_ she added. At least she gave me that much. _“But you really haven’t known him that long, a-and his background isn’t exactly the most clean-cut—”_

“I know, Mom,” she smiled again. “But you know how I fawned over him in high school, and aside from a few hiccups in the first couple weeks, he’s made me happier than I ever thought I could be!”

I tucked my tail in my lap to keep it still, seeing the pink in her ears when she turned that smile on me.

“And it’s not like my apartment will be available any time soon. Those floors still have to be repaired after they release the scene, and that could take anywhere from a few weeks to a month or more,” she ran a paw down her ears. “That was the only place I could afford with the money I’d saved, and would’ve been able to keep with my starting salary, and you know how hard it is for a bunny to find a roommate that doesn’t want it to go beyond that.”

Her mom sighed.

 _“We understand all of that, sweetheart, we do, we just…”_ she trailed off, Stu cutting back in.

_“We’re just saying that, maybe it would be better for you to come home, at least until things have calmed down out there.”_

Carrots stared at her phone, then shook her head.

“You’re asking me to abandon my dream job and the best friends I’ve ever made just because things are a little rough right now,” her frown got worse. “Sorry, but you know I’ve never been the type to run with my tail between my legs, and I’m not about to start now.”

She dragged in a breath, and I could tell she’d finally reached the end of her patience.

“And if that’s all you’re going to to talk to me about, then I think it’s time we hung up. Goodbye.”

She didn’t give them a chance to answer, ending the call and throwing her phone to the other end of the couch.

“You’d think I was chasing a deranged polar bear empty-pawed with how they’re carrying on!”

I sighed, closing my notebook as I got to my feet, dropping it and my pen on the coffee table.

“They’re just worried about you, Fluff,” I sat down behind her, putting my paws on her shoulders. “And with everything that’s happened, you can’t really blame them.”

“I know,” she ducked into my lap, taking my wrists and wrapping my arms around herself. “But I’d trained most of my life to be a cop, and they _still_ expect me to give it up just so I can marry a farmer and have three hundred kits with him!”

She thumped my thigh with a fist, then threw her paws over her eyes.

“As if that wasn’t enough, they won’t stop babying me! I’m so sick of it!”

I sighed.

“You’ve been in the middle of a bunch of shit lately,” I nuzzled between her ears, then licked the same spot. “They’re just worried about you.”

“I know,” she snuggled closer to me. “And it’s not them being worried that bothers me, it’s the fact they think I’m just going to get myself killed. I’ve lived away from home for over a year now, and the only time I’ve gotten hurt was when I was back there!”

I cringed.

“That only happened because you were chasing me,” I told her. “A half-deranged fox that could’ve easily killed you because I was panicking.”

She huffed, reaching up to rub my muzzle.

“And that only happened because Wyatt attacked you,” her paw dropped. She hadn’t called him her uncle since. “I-I’m just amazed you still want to—”

“And you can just stop right there,” I picked her up and turned her around, taking her paws and gripping them tightly. “What Wyatt pulled has nothing to do with you, and nothing could change how I feel about you, Judy, I promise you that.”

I cupped her face, wiping away tears she probably didn’t even know were there.

“I’ve said it before,” I went on quietly. “And I’ll say it as often as I need to to make you believe it.”

I swallowed.

“You’re the most important thing in my life, Judy,” I moved in and kissed her. “And I love you more than anything.”

She sniffled, leaning into my paw when I swiped at her tears again.

“I love you, too, Nick,” she smiled. “And I’m sorry for being such a dumb bunny.”

I chuckled, then pulled her in and hugged her.

“And I’m sorry in advance for being such a dumb fox, because we both know that’s not going to stop any time soon.”

She giggled, then kissed me, ending it when both our phones started going. I tugged mine from my pocket, she hopped over my head to grab hers.

“It’s Mercy,” she accepted the call, plopping down on that end of the couch. “Hello?”

I tuned her out as I accepted my own call, Paul’s freak-out cutting me off before I even got started.

 _“Nick! Oh thank God,”_ he almost never got this worked up. _“I-It’s Fru-Fru, s-she’s in the hospital!”_

“What?!” I jumped to my feet, Carrots doing the same. We stared at each other, and I knew I had the same fear on my face that she did. “We’ll be right there!”

* * *

  _“Hey, Fru, can I ask you something?”_

_She’d been sitting on my knee for the last hour, helping me with trig while I helped her with history. She closed her book and threw it on the bed._

_“What’s going on, Nicky?”_

_I rubbed the back of my neck, knowing my ears were about as red as my fur. Ugh, I hated feeling like such a shy little baby._

_“Well, uh…I met a girl, at school today. She just transferred from some fancy-ass private place,” I cleared my throat, wishing my voice would stop cracking already. Puberty freaking sucked. “A-And I…”_

_I drew back when she squealed, wondering how something that tiny could be so freaking loud._

_“Aww, Nicky, you’ve got a crush!” she gushed at me. “That is_ so _cute!”_

_I groaned, holding my ears to my head when she squealed again. I should’ve known telling her would be a bad idea._

_“Could you stop trying to make my head explode and tell me how to_ not _act like a freaking moron around her?”_

_She giggled._

_“Don’t worry, Nicky, I’ll tell you everything us girls like, there’s no way you’ll screw up!” she grabbed my shirt and climbed to my shoulder, then to the arm of the couch. “I know you’re good at reading mammals, so what have you figured out about this girl?”_

_I swallowed, feeling my ears heat up again._

_“Well, she’s the hottest girl I’ve ever seen,” I started with the obvious. “She doesn’t like listening, to anyone, but she never really gets in trouble for it…”_

I barely kept my growl quiet. I’d been seventeen when I’d met Delilah, and for five years, I’d let her control and manipulate me, thinking the whole time that her psycho behavior was normal. It was what I’d grown up with. To this day, I couldn’t figure out if she’d ever actually cared about me, or if she’d just been using me to get something.

“Do you think she’s okay, Nick?” Carrots’ paw tightened on mine. Even with my head spinning like this, I still heard all the mammals whispering about us, and with how her ears were flicking, she could hear it all, too.

“…thought this was a fox-free hospital…”

“Probably paying her…”

“As if she wasn’t enough of a bad influence…”

“…ashamed to share my species with her…”

I’d lived with so long it didn’t bug me anymore, but I still liked seeing them all shrink back when she glared at them. If looks could kill, this place would be a morgue.

Mercy, Paul and Trevor were sitting across the hall from Raymond, the oversized polar bear standing guard next to Fru’s door.

“How’s she doing?” I took the chair next to Mercy helping Judy curl up in my lap. Mercy messed with her paws, then gulped.

“W-We were at the mall,” she started, barely able to keep eye contact with me. “Fru and I decided to split from the guys after lunch and…”

She sniffled.

“I-I don’t know what happened!”

Sitting on the other side of her, Paul took her shoulder.

“It’s not your fault, Mercy,” he said. “None of us knew this was going to happen.”

She hiccuped, then nodded.

“I-I know, and I’m sure if Raymond hadn’t been there, things would’ve been a lot worse,” she swiped at her eyes and pulled in a breath. “W-We were looking at baby clothes, talking about how she and Victor were going to decorate the nursery, w-when this pair of squirrels came in and…”

She leaned against him, and it was hard to miss when she started shaking.

“A-And just started shooting! G-Going on about how all the preds in the building were going to die, that they had no place in the world anymore…”

She broke down, getting as close to him as she could without climbing over the arms of the chairs. I turned to Ray, knowing I’d gotten about as much as I was going to get from her.

“Is all that true?”

He nodded.

“We’re lucky they were so small,” he shook his head, his accent thick as ever. I still had no idea where he was supposed to be from, and I had the feeling I never would. “Those guns were unable to do much damage to most of their targets, but Fru-Fru wasn’t so lucky.”

Fru had always hated being called “Miss” or “Mrs.”, Even by mammals who worked for her.

“It wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, though,” Paul cut in. “She was still bleeding when Trevor and I got there, but she was awake and talking.”

Trevor scoffed.

“More like screaming a shit-ton about the pain,” his ears disappeared in his mane. “But at least they caught those psycho squirrels before they managed to kill someone.”

I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d started holding. Fru had lost some blood, but she’d been able to feel it, so she wasn’t paralyzed, or at least hadn’t been. There were plenty of ways gunshot wounds could go wrong, especially if the round was still stuck in them. I wanted to ask if any of them had seen her yet, when an old ibex came out of her room, carrying a slightly younger shrew in his hooves.

“Mrs. Faithe is awake and doing well, but I’m afraid only family are allowed to see her at the moment,” he stopped and looked us over. “Am I safe in assuming none of you are related?”

“Uh, I’m her brother,” I got up, setting Carrots in my seat. It wasn’t a complete lie, at least. “Can you tell us what happened?”

He pulled a tablet from his coat pocket.

“Her left hip and right shoulder were grazed by the bullets, resulting in moderately heavy blood loss, but aside from some scarring, there shouldn’t be any permanent damage.”

I could hear the tension drain from the hallway, even Raymond looked more relaxed. But that was just one of the things we’d all been worried about.

“What about the baby?”

He smiled.

“I’m happy to report that little Judy Faithe is unharmed,” he said. “Another week or two, and she’ll be ready to make her grand entrance.”

“Little Judy?” Carrots touched my shoulder, the salt in her scent telling me she was getting teary-eyed. “F-Fru-Fru named her daughter after me?”

“Why wouldn’t she, Judy?” Mercy beamed at her. “You’re her best friend, and you saved her life on your second day on the job.”

“Wow…” her paw tightened on my shirt, and a glance back told me she was blushing. “I-Is she awake now? C-Can we see her?”

The doctor shook his head.

“Only family can visit for the first twenty-four hours, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow, and you’ll have to keep it to two visitors at a time.”

“Oh, we will,” Mercy promised him. “Thank you so much, Doctor West!”

He smiled again.

“It’s my pleasure. Now,” it dropped a bit when he turned to me. “You said you were her brother?”

I nodded, my tail almost wrapped around my feet.

“Y-Yeah, that’s right,” I couldn’t blame him for being skeptical, I couldn’t believe it at times, and I’d lived with it for almost thirty years. He kept staring at me, then nodded, tapping the ibex’s hoof so he stood aside.

“We just gave her some medication for the pain, so you’ll only have a few minutes to speak with her before it kicks in.”

I nodded again, trying to keep my tail from twitching with worry as I walked past them.

“I understand, thank you,” I stopped just inside the room; Kevin was sitting by the bed with _Tate_ in his paws. Fru’s was actually set up on top of that one, giving her doctors plenty of room to work without having to worry about getting stepped on or something. Fru already looked pretty out of it, babbling about nothing and laughing at just about everything, almost like she got when she was drunk. I barely heard the door shut behind me, getting rooted to the spot when I smelled her blood.

“D-Don’t you start, Nicky,” she suddenly slurred, yanking me back to reality. “I know that look on your face, and I’m not about to let you start feeling guilty for this!”

“I can’t help it,” I stopped about a foot back, barely able to look at them. “It hasn’t even been a week since Judy’s apartment was hit, and now you’re stuck in here!”

“Because some crazy squirrels had a grudge against preds,” she could barely get the words out clearly enough. “It had nothing to do with Delilah!”

I cringed when they all stared at me, before Fru started looking cross-eyed. She yawned.

“I’m going to sleep now, good night,” she curled up on her side, and the next second, she was out. It wasn’t long before _Tate_ waved me forward, and it took everything I had to not just turn tail and run.

“ _T-Tate,_ I’m…” I trailed off, my mind going blank. “I-I’m so…”

He shook his head.

“You have nothing to be sorry about, my child,” he said. “The only mammals to blame here are those squirrels, and they have nothing to do with you.”

“I-I know, but…” I shoved my paws through my hair, yanking on my ears before dropping my arms to my sides. I sighed. “You know I won’t stop feeling like this, not until Delilah and whoever she’s working with are either off the streets or six feet under.”

He and Kevin stared at me again, and I knew exactly what I looked like to them: a street punk with a hundred prices on his head, ready and waiting to kick the ass of anyone stupid enough to try and collect them. I still remembered how I felt after those fights, how my ISS had almost always made me go completely overboard. Word had spread fast that anyone who screwed with Nick Wilde was a dead mammal, and despite the fact I was an even better fighter now, I tried to stay as far from scraps as possible, unless I knew there was no other way out. _Tate_ sighed, stepping off Kevin’s paw and walking across the bed; it took more than I wanted to admit to keep from stepping back.

“If it will help relieve your guilt, Nicolas, then I will do everything in my power to help you, as long as you promise me one thing in return.”

I forced myself to walk forward, kneeling by the bed.

“Anything, _Tate,_ ” I swore, just as I always had, and always would. “You know that.”

He glanced at the door over my head, smiling when he heard the muffled talking from the hallway. When he turned back to me, there was a hard glint in his eyes that hadn’t been in years.

“Promise you won’t forget what’s really important,” the soft, flat tone still made me shudder. “I will not let you go down that path again, not when you have so much more to lose. Do you understand?”

I was surprised I didn’t hesitate, nodding once as I got back to my feet.

“I understand,” I even managed to smile when I heard Judy’s laugh. “And I won’t forget, I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cold Hearted- Paula Abdul, 1989  
> Caught Up in You- 38 Special, 1982


	16. Chapter 16

I almost couldn’t believe how long I’d gone without touching my guitar, that karaoke night had been the most any of us had had to with music in months. Fru had been released last night, and Delilah seemed to have split, just as I’d figured she would. But at least it was quiet, for now.

“You’re going to break that thing if you keep holding it like that, Slick.”

Carrots hopped on the bed behind me, wrapping her arms around my neck and laying her head on my shoulder. I chuckled, setting it on the floor before taking her paws, trying to smile as she rubbed her cheek against mine.

“I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on,” I tightened my grip, her paws were so small compared to mine. “I doubt that note Delilah left was the end of it.”

It had already been two weeks since Carrots’ building had been bombed, and so far, all they’d been able to get was the device had been homemade, and had been small enough that only a weasel or other mammal that size could’ve made it. Any prints would’ve been burnt off in the fire, and the components could be picked up at any hardware shop in the city. She pulled one of her paws from mine, dragging it through my fur until she reached the scars from my shock collar. She swallowed, hard.

“Every time I see those, I-I don’t know what to think,” she buried her face in my shoulder, then started crying. “I-I spent so much of my life thinking predators and prey got along outside Bunnyburrow, o-only to find out that…t-that…”

“Hey, hey,” I pulled her in front of me, tipping her head back and wiping her tears. “It’s true, we don’t all get along, but it’s getting better, and all because of mammals like you.”

I kissed her forehead, smiling when she blushed.

“Y-You’re all a big part of that, too, Nick, you’ve done more for preds than I ever could,” she nuzzled me. “And I wouldn’t have been able to do half of what I did if you guys hadn’t inspired me to in the first place.”

I looked at her.

“But you’ve wanted to be a cop since you were nine,” I scratched my cheek. “The band didn’t exist back then, and our music’s not exactly kid-friendly.”

She shook her head.

“I mean, you’ve all inspired me to look beyond prejudices I didn’t even know I had. I wasn’t always as open with preds, especially foxes, as I am now.”

She waved a paw at the scars on her face, invisible under her fur. I sighed.

“I can understand that. After learning what my parents pulled, I wasn’t too fond of prey,” I tapped my nose against hers. “But I thank God every day that I was able to get past it, so I didn’t miss out on an amazing mammal like you.”

Her blush got darker.

“I feel the same way about you, Nick,” her nose slipped from mine. “I love you…”

She kissed me, but I pulled back before it went too far.

“I love you, too, Judy,” I said softly. “But you know there’s something else we have to talk about…”

“Later, Slick,” she kissed me again, the paw that hadn’t started stroking my tail going right for my belt. “But I’m afraid I’m in heat again, and you saw what happens when I let it get out of paw…”

She bit my lip and tugged, her moan huffing across my face when I kissed back. I moved forward whenever she tried to end it, until she was trapped under me. She’d managed to shove my pants down over my tail, and I finished the job by kicking them off. I leaned in to nip her neck, only for her to push back against my chest.

“No, Nick, please,” her eyes locked with mine, the moonlight coming in through the window making them glow. “I…I want you, but…”

Her ears flushed red, and she dragged her teeth along her lip.

“I…I want you to hunt me,” she forced the words out. “I-I want to be your prey!”

I stared at her, pulling back as she sat up, her ears perking up as her eyes swept over me. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t blow the shit out of my ego when her scent spiked again, but…

“Where’s this coming from?”

She shook her head, grabbing her dress and peeling it off; my mouth started watering when I saw she wasn’t wearing anything under it.

“T-This is something I’ve always wanted to do with you,” she admitted, her ears getting even darker. “B-But I was afraid to ask, I-I thought you wouldn’t go for it…”

She slipped off the bed, her tail flicking when she looked at me over her shoulder, her ears flat against her back. I took in every inch of her gray and white fur, my sheath twitching when she focused that hot little stare on it.

“Please, Nick,” she begged, clasping her paws by her head. “I-I’ve been such a naughty little bunny, I need a big, strong, _scary_ fox to punish me…”

She smirked, then took off, almost a blur as I chased after her. She’d hold still just long enough for me to pounce, shrieking when I finally managed to grab her tail before she hopped out of reach again. I could barely run when I finally cornered her, and I figured it was time to become the predator she’d asked me to be.

I got on all fours and stalked slowly toward her, chuckling as her nose started twitching, when she started backing away. She hit the wall, and I closed in on her, slamming my paws on either side of her head. Her breath was coming in little gasps,and I licked my lips, flashing a grin that showed off every one of my teeth.

“Looks like I finally caught you, bunny,” my voice was low, thick with lust. “Now all I have to do is figure out just how to _eat you_.”

I kept an ear on her heart rate as I leaned in, dragging my tongue along her shoulder before biting down, just enough to make her bleed. She gasped again, moaning as she squirmed under me; I lapped at the cuts, the primal part of me going crazy as the hot, sweet taste of her blood. It was telling me to mate with her, to make sure anyone who saw her would know she was mine.

“ _Mine_ ,” I ground the word out, pressing my nose to her neck, pulling in her scent with each breath. “You’re mine, Judy, and don’t you ever forget that.”

She cried out when I bit her again.

“Oh, Nick, yes!” she almost screamed it. “I-I’m yours, I’ve always been yours!”

“Good,” I pulled back, my eyes trailing over her face, then down her body. Her white fur highlighted her best features: big, sparkling eyes, soft, delicious lips, small waist and full hips. It tapered off on her thighs, clenched and shaking as she tried to hold herself up, her skin flushed and glistening with need. I leaned in, my claws digging into the wall as I nuzzled her, dragging my tongue along the slit before I pushed it inside. She clamped down on it as I grabbed her waist, picking her up and pinning her against the wall, tasting every sweet, pulsing inch I could reach.

She wrapped her arms around my head, her claws digging in as I traced her core, and she started grinding against my muzzle. Her grip tightened as I teased her with my teeth, her short, frantic gasps telling me just how close she was. I growled low in my throat as I bit her again, and that was all it took. I lapped up everything she had to offer, her body almost convulsing as she reached her peak.

“O-Oh, Nick… _o-oh, God_!” her arms viced around my head before she went limp, still trembling as she started coming down from it. I took my time pulling out, wanting to savor her wet heat for as long as I could. I licked my lips, making sure to get every drop as I watched her, smirking when I saw her eyes were glazed, her mouth hanging open as she dragged in each breath. I gave her another minute before pulling her down, kissing her frantically. She pushed back with everything she had left, which was honestly more than I thought.

“I love you, Nick,” she murmured, holding my snout. She kissed me again. “I love you so much!”

I smiled, then sat down, holding her tightly. I knew my heart was pounding just as fast as hers was.

“I love you, Judy,” I stroked her limp ears, and she buried her face in my neck. “More than life itself.”

She moaned, then tilted her head back, biting my lip as she ground against me again, her tongue darting in my mouth as she grabbed my sheath.

“That was better than I could’ve hoped for,” she whispered, then her lips curled in a sly little smile. “And now, it’s time I return the favor.”

She started stroking, her claws grazing me through my shorts as she dipped her other paw in to tease the tip. My hips bucked, and I fought the urge to just shove her to the floor and take her. She ended up doing the same thing to me, taking her paws away and pushing me back, yanking my shorts off before I’d even realized what was happening. She dragged herself up my chest, smiling as she ran her fingers through my fur.

“This big, scary fox violated me,” she licked my neck, pulled her teeth along my shoulder, then bit down, hard enough to draw blood. She moaned as she lapped it up, grinding against me again. “It’s only fair that I get to violate _him_ now.”

Her eyes locked with mine, her stare predatory.

“After all, he’s just as much mine as I am his.”

I groaned, then kissed her like crazy.

“Hell, yeah, I am, Fluff,” I licked her nose. “And don’t you dare let me forget it.”

She giggled, gasping when I dug my claws into her ass.

“Never, Slick, never…”

* * *

_God, she’s beautiful._

I’d lost track of how long I’d just laid there smiling at her, curled up with her nose twitching. Rain had come out of nowhere, and I’d woken up to it splashing against the window. Everything about the case, all the shit we’d been through the past year was a hundred miles away, and for once, I couldn’t bring myself to care about it.

_I could stay like this forever,_ I brought her closer, licking the top of her head when she clung to me, her nose twitching faster as she started kicking. I rubbed her back, but she just curled into a tighter ball, tugging my fur so hard I thought she’d tear it out. She started muttering to herself, the smell of her tears hitting me like a freight train.

“Nick…” she whimpered. “Nick, please…d-don’t do this! Don’t leave me, please!”

“Shh…” I wrapped my tail around her, holding her closer. “It’s okay, Fluff, I’m not going anywhere, I’m staying right here…”

It took a while for her to snap out of it. She jerked away from me, still sobbing as she buried her face in her paws.

“T-That can’t happen…” her breath hitched. “I-It just _can’t_!”

“And it won’t,” I sat up, putting a paw on her shoulder. She tensed, her eyes wide as shewhirled to face me. I tightened my grip. “I’m not going to leave you, Judy, no matter what happens.”

She stared at me, her face scrunching up as she threw herself at me, sobbing like I’d just pulled her from a death trap. I just held her, offering what comfort I could. I don’t know how long passed before she stopped crying, pushing away from me and rubbing her arm across her eyes.

“God…” she hiccuped. “W-Why won’t that nightmare leave me alone?”

I touched her cheek, tilting her face back toward me, smoothing her wet fur with my thumb.

“It must have been pretty bad to get this reaction out of you,” my ears went back. “You started calling out to me in your sleep…”

She bit her lip.

“Oh…” she rubbed her eyes again. “I-I’ve had it since my apartment was bombed. We’re trapped in the fire, and you use everything you have to make sure we get out, but, when we do, you…y-you…”

She sniffled, but kept the tears back. I cupped her face, leaning in so my nose touched hers.

“I don’t make it, do I?”

She shook her head, then pulled back to look at me.

“I-I’ve never felt like that before,” she admitted. “L-Like I was losing everyone, everything important to me all at once…a-and there was nothing I could do about it!”

She buried her face in my neck, still shaking. I hugged her, stroking her limp ears.

“You’ll never have to worry about that, sweetheart,” I nuzzled the top of her head. “I’ll always be there when you need me, I promise.”

She sniffled, then looked up at me, flashing a small, wet smile.

“I-I know that, Nick, i-it’s just…” she ran a paw down my chest. “I-I’m just not used to feeling so…out of control, like one wrong move is all it’ll take to lose everything I’ve worked so hard for. My job, my independence…”

She looked back at me, her eyes shining with tears.

“You…” she couldn’t blink them away this time. “I-I just don’t want to—!”

“And you won’t,” I took her shoulders. “We’re not going to leave you, Judy, no matter what happens. Once you’re part of this pack, you’re stuck with us for life.”

She giggled, then pushed me down, snuggling under my chin.

“I’ve actually felt more at home with you guys than I have with my own family,” she started. “You’re the only ones who’ve never judged me because of my dreams, I was starting to think mammals like you didn’t exist anymore…”

She trailed off. I chuckled a bit, tracing a claw down her arm.

“We’d be a bunch of hypocrites if we did,” I put a paw behind my head, then turned to look out the window. “We’ve all had mammals look down on us, because of who we are, what we want, so instead of letting them beat us down, we decided to do everything we can to throw it back in their faces.”

She giggled again, throwing an arm across my chest.

“I always thought you guys were so brave,” she dragged her chin across my shoulder. “Eventually, I learned not to care when someone said I couldn’t be a cop, but I could never get past what else they’d say about me. You heard some of it from Maywood yourself.”

I nodded.

“And from those kids I caught at that farm, or one of them, at least,” it was the first time I’d told her about this. “He said bunnies were only good for farming and fucking, which is pretty much what Tony said about you guys when we were kids.”

She hummed thoughtfully, brushing her claws over the scar from my heart surgery. I still couldn’t quite believe there’d been something wrong with it, I was sure it had just been in my head.

“What do you think Delilah’s going to pull next?”

I sighed.

“I’d be lying if I said I had any clue,” I shook my head. “I don’t even know the bitch anymore, I don’t think I ever really did.”

I groaned when she pushed herself up, her eyes locking with mine.

“Why does she hate you so much, anyway?”

I shrugged.

“I dumped her after I realized she’d been stealing from the band,” I started. “And that she’d been screwing three other guys behind my back, at least.”

I sat up, holding her in my lap.

“But she was more pissed off about being kicked out of the group, she could never get enough attention.”

I rolled my eyes, how the hell could I have been so stupid?

“I have no idea what I saw in her, or what made me stay with her so long,” I tilted her chin back. “But I do know that she’s not even half the mammal you are, and I’m so glad you hopped your way into my life.”

Her ears went pink, and she buried her face in my neck. I laughed.

“You’ll have to get used to me saying that eventually, Fluff,” I nuzzled her head. “I’m not going to stop just because you keep hiding from me.”

She groaned, then pulled back to stare at me.

“You just want to tease me about being red in the ears,” she complained. I smirked again.

“You’re only half right,” I put a paw on her cheek. “I really do think you’re amazing, and I want to make sure you don’t forget that, either.”

Her ears got darker, and her eyes narrowed.

“As long as you’re not just trying to make my head as big as yours, Mr. Ego,” she crossed her arms. “You’re getting better, but calling you humble is still a pretty big stretch.”

I scoffed.

“How dare you,” I put a paw on my chest. “I’m the most humble mammal I know!”

She snorted.

“I’ll be sure to let Paul and Mercy know, they both think you’re just short of an egomaniac,” she tapped her chin. “Come to think of it, so do Ed, Leo, Rocco, Trevor, Doc Muskrat, of course…”

I rolled my eyes again.

“Okay, I get the point, rabbit, stop rubbing it in.”

“Oh, and so does Jack,” she went on, looking like she loved every second of it. “And our sisters Amy, Violet, Teresa, Penelope, Kiara, I can keep going, you know.”

I facepalmed.

“No, you made your point, fluff ass, I got to tone down on the self-importance act, I get it!”

“ _Do_ you?” she looked at me. I huffed.

“Yes, Officer Hopps, I promise, I’ll try not to be so big-headed,” I couldn’t keep a straight face. “At least sometimes.”

She laughed, then hugged me.

“That’s what I’m here for, Slick, someone has to help you keep it reined in!”

I shook my head and hugged her back.

“Just don’t go overboard with it, Carrots, all right?”

She shrugged, tucking herself back against my chest.

“No promises, Slick,” she yawned a bit. “No promises…”

* * *

It was still raining when I woke up later, though now it was more of a drizzle. Carrots was gone, too, one look at the clock on the wall telling me why: it was already noon. I dragged myself out of bed and grabbed my sweats from the floor, my tail frizzing when the door banged open.

“About time you got up, Nick!”

Judy hopped on the bed and flopped down, licking her lips as she looked me up and down. It told me exactly what was going through her head.

“Don’t even think about it,” I flicked my tail out of her reach, then pulled on my sweats. “After last night, you’ll have to pull something pretty big before I let you fuck me again.”

She laughed.

“Shouldn’t I be the one saying that?” she sat on her knees. “You are almost twice my size, after all.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, but I don’t have a bunny’s sex drive,” I complained. “ _And_ I hadn’t really slept in about two days, thanks to all the shit that’s gone down.”

Her smile faded.

“I know what you mean, Nick,” she messed with her paws. “First, my apartment gets bombed, then Fru ends up in the hospital, and it sounds like it’s all connected to your crazy ex showing up.”

She swallowed.

“And then there’s still all the work we have to put in to Mercy and Paul ready for the academy, we only have a couple weeks left until the next class starts.”

“I know,” I got on the floor and started doing push-ups, grunting when she suddenly flopped across my back. “Geeze, give a guy some warning next time, will you?”

She giggled again, making sure I felt every inch of her as she shifted.

“Rule one of the police academy, sweetheart, always be on your toes,” she scratched behind my ear. “You never know when something else might come up.”

She wrapped her arms around my neck, putting her chin on my shoulder.

“You’d know that if you didn’t keep shirking on training, you promised you’d help me with it!”

I groaned, flicking her tail with mine. At least with her lying on me like this, I was actually getting some kind of challenge.

“Sorry, Fluff, but I never promised anything,” I glanced back at her, smirking. “I just said I’d try, and I haven’t had time to.”

She huffed, hooking her legs around my waist as she sat up.

“You’ve had time to play your guitar, write new songs and sit around on your laptop,” she wasn’t as ticked off as she looked. “If you can laze around like that, then you have more than enough time to help me with Paul and Mercy!”

I got my my knees, grabbed her and flipped her over my shoulder, holding her to my chest.

“It’s not that easy, Carrots,” I looked down at her. “You have no idea how pissed I am that I let Delilah get that close to you, and so far I haven’t had any luck trying to find her. It doesn’t help that I’ve still got the PI test to worry about, and you nagging me about your cop training shit all the time is not helping.”

Her ears flushed red, then dropped to her back. She brushed my cheek, and I realized just how small she was when I covered her paw with mine.

“I-I’m sorry, Nick, I didn’t realize just how caught up I’d gotten in it, I’m just so excited to get to work with them.”

I sighed.

“I know you are, Fluff, and I didn’t mean to be so harsh on you,” I took her paw off my face and held it. “I know how much you love your job, but lately, it’s all you’ve thought about, it’s like I barely exist.”

Last night had been the first time we’d spent together in almost a month. If she hadn’t been trying to sneak info on the case from her teammates, she’d been busy with Paul and Mercy, or off working with Trevor or someone else. She sighed, laying her head back on my shoulder.

“That’s why I asked you to help me with them,” she said. “I knew how busy I’d be, ad I thought it’d give us a chance to spend some time together during all this. I never thought about you having to prep for the exam, or track down Delilah…”

She shivered, burying her face in my neck. I tightened my hold on her, stroking her ears. It always helped calm her down, as long as I kept my claws out of it.

“I’ll find her before she has the chance to hurt you again, Judy, I promise,” I nuzzled the top of her head. “Then I’ll make sure she never gets the chance to try again.”

She looked at me.

“Y-You’re going to kill her, aren’t you?”

“I don’t really have much of a choice,” I cupped her face. “It’s the only way to keep her from coming after you again.”

She swallowed, then nodded.

“I understand,” she focused on my chest. “I just wish there was another way to…”

I kissed her forehead.

“You and me both, I’m not the type of mammal that likes killing, not anymore,” my tail flicked. “But you know, I’ve been thinking, maybe after all this is over, we could go somewhere, to try and get over all this?”

She smiled.

“I’d like that. What did you have in mind?”

I shrugged.

“I don’t know, maybe a cruise or something? I think we deserve it after all this.”

She giggled.

“That sounds great, but I honestly don’t care what we do,” she snuggled against me. “As long as I’m with you, Nick, it’ll be the most amazing thing ever.”

I groaned again.

“Ugh, get all sappy on me, why don’t you?”

She jabbed me in the gut.

“You brought it up, Slick,” she said. “Don’t start acting romantic if me thinking it’s sweet makes you sick.”

I chuckled.

“It doesn’t, I’m just not used to hearing it from you,” I tilted her head back. “But I wouldn’t mind hearing it more often.”

She snorted.

“Isn’t that supposed to be my line? When did you become the—”

She cut off at a loud crash downstairs, bolting out of my lap and throwing the door open.

“What was that?!” she hit the hallway. “Is everyone okay?!”

“We’re good!” Trevor yelled. “Paul’s just a klutz!”

“You’re the one who dropped it, you moron!” Paul shouted. Carrots stifled a laugh.

“You guys are hopeless, now clean that up before Nick sees!”

She came back and shut the door again, shaking her head as she walked toward me.

“Those two,” she curled back in my lap. “I didn’t see what they were doing, but it’s obviously something that would piss you off if you saw it.”

I scoffed.

“There’s a reason I don’t keep anything valuable in this place, they’re always moving shit around,” I shook my head. “It’s some feng shui or whatever crap that Trevor’s into. I don’t even try to stop them anymore, it doesn’t work.”

She giggled.

“As long as it keeps them out of real trouble, it can’t be too bad,” she looked at me, that sly smile back on her face. “Now, where were we before that…explosive interruption?”

I chuckled, then moved in to kiss her.

“Right about here…”

* * *

“You’re letting her get too close, Paul,” I took Mercy’s shoulder and pulled her back. It was already the third time she’d decked him, and not because she could fight. Besides her ‘kicked baby’ look, Carrots sucked at fighting dirty, so she’d asked me to fill these two in. It wasn’t going well. “If you did that in a real fight, you’d be out before you could blink!”

I tried not to gag when they just stared at each other with stars in their eyes, giggling like a couple kids. I stepped between them, telling her to park it so I could show them both how it was done. For about the tenth time that morning.

“You’ll learn a lot of moves at the academy,” I took my usual fighting stance: low to the ground, fists up, weight on my front foot so I was ready to move. “But it’s never going to be that neat in the real world, and fighting clean’s a good way to get killed.”

I launched myself at Paul while he was still making puppy eyes at Mercy, pinning him to the mat with his arms behind his back in five seconds flat. Mercy cracked up when he growled, realizing he couldn’t get out of it. I grabbed his hair and pulled his head back, swiping a claw across his throat.

“You’re dead, Short Tail!”

“Ack, no!” he started convulsing, and almost managed to throw me off. “Blood, blood, blood! And…death!”

He flopped down, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he rolled his eyes back. Mercy and I just stared at him before losing it.

“You’ve been hanging around Judy too long,” she managed as I got off him, still chuckling myself.

“But I have to say, you’re way better at that than she is,” I helped him up, jumping when something wet socked me in the back of the head. “Ow! What was that?”

I looked down at a bunny-sized towel, Carrots smirking at me as she came up and grabbed it.

“You really thought I wouldn’t hear that, Slick?”

I ruffled my damp fur, then stuck my paws in my pockets.

“I don’t remember whispering it, Fluff,” I turned to her. “And where have you been?”

She sighed.

“I think Trevor caught that flu bug Zariah and Yumiko had a couple weeks ago,” she started. “I just finished cleaning up around the toilet because he missed.”

I stared at the towel she’d beamed me with; she shook her head.

“Don’t worry, I just used that one to wipe off the mirror when it got steamed up, I’ve had him sitting in an improvised sauna for the last hour, hopefully it helps clear him out,” she balled it up, tossing it from paw to paw. “How’s it been going out here?”

I groaned.

“Mercy’s doing…okay, but Paul,” I jerked a thumb over my shoulder. “The most he’s done is show off his acting skills, after getting pinned by someone half his size…again.”

Paul flipped me off.

“I didn’t grow up pulling cheap moves to keep my tail attached, doesn’t help my folks never let me do anything,” he dropped on the mat and crossed his arms. “Of course I suck ass at this!”

I sighed.

“It doesn’t help that you can’t stay focused, that’s the biggest issue,” I went over and sat in front of him. “I’m sure they’ll help you with that, but it’ll be better if…”

I trailed off when I realized he wasn’t listening, and that Mercy was doing everything short of stripping to keep his attention. I groaned again.

“You two know you won’t be allowed to be partners, right?”

They froze, staring at each other before turning to me.

“B-But, we work best together,” Mercy looked like she was about to cry. “T-They can’t split us up!”

I shrugged.

“They’ll have to if they see you making moon eyes at each other,” this time, I did gag. “You’d probably be kicked out of the academy if they caught you like that.”

They turned to Judy, who shook her head.

“They are pretty strict about fraternization between cadets, it causes too many distractions. Breaking that rule will get you both a serious reprimand, if not expulsion,” she glanced at me. “It’s not as strict once you’ve graduated and been assigned to your precincts, but if you expect to be partners, you’ll have to keep your relationship out of it, or they’ll have to split you guys up.”

She dropped the towel on the mat, then sat next to me.

“As much as I love the fact you guys are so happy together, I’m worried you won’t be able to keep it under wraps enough that you won’t get reprimanded,” she smoothed a paw down her ears. “But there’s still the option of one of you joining Nick’s and Trevor’s PI team, no one would care then.”

Paul and Mercy looked at each other, then shook their heads.

“We’ve already decided we’re going to be cops,” Mercy turned back to us. “We want to work with you at Precinct One, Judy, to show preds and prey can and do get along without a problem.”

“It’d be even better if you joined, Nick,” Paul said to me. “Foxes are treated the worst out of almost all preds, who knows how much would change if you ended up at…”

He trailed off as I shook my head.

“I’ve already thought about it,” I told him. “And it wouldn’t work. I’ve got too much shit in my past, and I don’t think the world’s ready for a fox cop, anyway. Besides, you all know I could never do all that case report shit, I’d be too busy trying to stay awake.”

We laughed, even as Carrots thumped me in the arm.

“As nice as you’d look in uniform, Slick, it is pretty hard to see you doing anything other than chasing perps and breaking up fights, if you weren’t the one getting in them,” she giggled again. “And that’s not even half the job. Cop work’s not nearly as exciting as it looks on TV.”

“Of course it’s not,” I sat back on my paws. “If they showed how much it sucked, no one would want to do it!”

She rolled her eyes and socked me. I chuckled.

“Okay, almost no one. Happy now?”

She scoffed.

“Forget it, I should on check on Trevor, anyway,” she got up, her head just about level with mine. “Think you can handle training these two a bit longer? We don’t have much time before the academy starts.”

I nodded and got to my feet.

“Yeah, I can do that, but I’m not sure they can,” I nodded toward Paul and Mercy, already off in la-la land. “Ugh, if I have to keep seeing them like that, I’m going to puke.”

She giggled, then jumped and kissed my cheek.

“I’d be lying if I said I never looked at you that way, and I know you look at me like that,” she smirked at me. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed, Slick.”

“That’s different,” I argued. “We’re subtle about it.”

I glanced back at them.

“And they don’t seem to have a clue what that means.”

She grabbed my collar and pulled me down.

“And I plan to show you just how not subtle I can be tonight,” she leaned in, stopping just short of kissing me. “Sound like fun, tough guy?”

My tail went straight out behind me when she licked my nose, then stepped back and turned away, her tail flicking with every over-the-top sway of her hips.

_Damn, I taught her a little_ too _well,_ I cleared my throat, smoothing out my shirt as I straightened. _She’s just freaking_ evil _now._

I bit my lip as my mind flashed forward, never more grateful to whoever had invented baggy shorts. I groaned, low enough that Paul and Mercy couldn’t hear it.

_You are so going to be the death of me, Fluff…_

* * *

_“You could be the corpse and I could be the killer.”_

_I was certainly pissed enough to do that to her, after everything she’d pulled. How the hell could I have been stupid enough to fall for it?_

_“You pollute the room with a filthy tongue, watch me choke it down so I can throw it up!”_

_I knew it wasn’t the best idea to release the song right after I’d kicked the bitch out, of the band and my life, but the sooner I got it out, the sooner I could forget she existed. And less chance I’d try to go out and hunt her ass down again, her and every miserable pelt she’d fucked behind my back._

_“Don’t mind us, we’re just spilling our guts,” Mercy and Paul backed me up. “If this is love, I don’t want to be loved!”_

_I didn’t have much of a clue what love was supposed to be, but if her twisted idea of it really was ‘the best it could get’, then I was better off without it. It meant one less way I’d have everything I tried to do thrown back in my face, one less way to get hurt._

_“If this is love I don’t want to be hanging by the neck before an audience of death!”_

_That was something I’d always dealt with, even before I’d met her, an urge in the back of my mind that never really went away. But at least my real friends had always been there for me, even when I’d felt like shit and treated them like it. I looked behind me as the chord faded, seeing they were all smiling at me._

_“Feeling better?” Trevor pulled off his headphones, stepping out from behind his kit. I took off my guitar and leaned it against the amp, turned it off, then sat on the edge of the stage. It was the last rehearsal before our next show, so right now we were performing for an empty stadium. I shrugged._

_“Good as I can be, I guess,” I shoved my paws under me to keep from biting my claws. It was a nervous habit I’d picked up from Mercy, one that sure didn’t help me play. I sighed. “I just wish I…I don’t know…”_

_I shook my head, my tail thumping against the stage before I tucked it in my lap. Paul put his bass on its stand, then sat next to me._

_“I’m still trying to get my head around the fact she pulled all that crap,” he scratched his ear, it had gotten snagged on a wire when he’d helped set up the lights. “The cheating’s bad enough, but I never thought she’d steal from us!”_

_“Me, either,” Mercy sat on my other side, closer than usual. “I mean, I always knew she was high-maintenance, but—”_

_I shoved out a breath, sliding to the floor._

_“Look, can we just…_ not _talk about her?” I crossed my arms. “I’m trying to get the bitch_ out _of my head, if you didn’t notice.”_

_Paul winced, rubbing the back of his neck._

_“Sorry, Nick, I never realized how much we brought her up…”_

_“And we think it’ll be better if you talk about it,” Mercy tucked a leg under her. I scoffed._

_“What’s there to talk about?” I started. “I fell for her act, she cheated on me and stole from us. I broke it off and kicked her ass out, end of story.”_

_I grabbed my guitar, unplugged it and shoved it in the case, zipping it shut and throwing it across my back. There was more to it than that, but I was the only one left who knew that. I’d been hanging with Savage when I’d caught_ her _with some other guys, and it hadn’t taken long to figure out everything she’d told me had been a big fat fucking lie. She hadn’t even tried to deny it when I’d confronted her, cracking up before siccing her little pack on me. At first, I’d just laid there and taken it, all while she’d insulted me right to my face. But then she’d said something she’d sworn she wouldn’t repeat, and I’d freaking lost it._

_My ISS had taken over, and the only thing that had snapped me out of it had been Savage screaming at me, begging me to stop before I killed someone. I hadn’t even realized I’d had one of their necks in my mouth, or that I’d already bitten down hard enough to break skin. And it hadn’t even been the first time I’d tasted blood._

_I’d spat the guy out, then grabbed the bag she’d dropped and taken off. She’d already hightailed it by then, and Savage had cut out the next morning. He couldn’t trust me anymore, and I couldn’t blame him. It’d been the last time I’d seen any of them._

At least, until now. Jack still didn’t trust me, and Delilah had bombed Judy’s apartment, all so she could leave me some twisted message. But the worst part was I still had no idea what else she planned to do.

“But anything you say will only fuel my lungs,” Carrots swept around the corner, jumping back when she walked into me.

“Geeze, Nick, don’t do that!”

I laughed.

“You were the one coming down the hall with your eyes closed, sweetheart,” I glanced at her phone, the screen showing her iTooth app. Sarcasm was one of our most popular songs, even if the album it was on had never sold too well. But that wasn’t what caught my attention about it, it was the song under it. “Uh, where’d you get that?”

“Huh?” she looked at the screen, her ears going red. “Oh, uh, Trevor gave it to me last night, and I just listened to it during my cool down.”

She looked up at me.

“I’ve never heard you play acoustic before, Nick.”

I groaned, rubbing a paw over my eyes.

“Damn it, Trevor…”

“What’s wrong?”

I groaned again.

“Nothing, I just…” I sighed. No point in keeping it from her now. “I wrote that in case we have some kind of huge fight, and I didn’t want to show it to you in case I jinxed it.”

She smiled, then hugged me, nuzzling into my chest.

“You’re so sweet, Nick,” she tilted her head to look at me. “And I’m about as stubborn as you are, so any fights we have are likely going to be half my fault, anyway.”

She pouted.

“But I don’t have any romantic ways of apologizing like you do, so not fair!”

I chuckled, tapping her nose with a claw.

“You’re a smart bun, I’m sure you could think of something,” I brushed a paw down her ears. “Sorry I couldn’t go with you to see Paul and Mercy off.”

They’d caught the bus to the academy this morning, but the bug Trevor had caught was still sticking around, and I didn’t think it was a good idea to leave him alone. She shrugged.

“Don’t worry, they understood,” she pulled back. “How’s he doing?”

“Kind of better, he’s stopped barfing, at least,” I put my paws on my hips. “His fever still hasn’t gone down, though, I’m starting to get worried.”

“Me, too,” she took out her phone and started typing something. “I was going to run some errands after a quick shower, I’ll see if I can find something we haven’t tried yet.”

That was a weird side effect of the Night Howler crap he’d been hit with: certain meds didn’t have much of an effect on some of the victims, and they still hadn’t figured out why. It’d be a hell of a lot easier if he didn’t hate hospitals so much, but I can’t really blame him there, too much.

“Remind me again why we can’t just ask Rocco, Ed or Leo to help get him to the ER?”

I shook my head.

“Because I tried that a few days ago, and he almost took Leo’s nose off,” I sighed again. “And now no one else will go near him.”

She cringed, and I knew she was thinking about the cuts she must have noticed on Leo’s face, and the fact he’d been jumpy whenever Trevor got close to him. But I was not expecting what she said next.

“How about I hit him with a tranq, and we just take him in then?”

I stared at her.

“Because that’s completely unethical, and kind of twisted,” my paws dropped to my sides. “What made you think I would even consider that?”

She bit her lip, her ears falling behind her back.

“I know it’s a bad idea, but I’m just so worried about him.”

“I know,” I put a paw on her shoulder. “But forcing him to go would just make things worse, and I don’t really need another name on my ‘mammals who hate my guts’ list.”

She giggled a bit.

“You’re right, it’ll have to be his choice if he goes on,” she stood on her toes, kissing my chin. “I’ll just get my shower out of the way, then I’ll see if there’s any meds we haven’t tried yet.”

She went around me, heading for her room. She didn’t sleep there much anymore, but she liked having her own space, and with all the stuffed animals she kept on her bed, it wasn’t like I was complaining.

Just before she was out of reach, I grabbed her paw and pulled her back, kissing her like I’d never get another chance to. She clung to me, looking completely dazed when I ended it.

“W-Wow…” she dragged in a breath, her nose twitching a bit. “W-What was _that_ for, Slick?”

“Nothing,” I smiled, tapping her nose with mine. “Just felt like it.”

She moaned, then shot up and kissed me again.

“You should ‘just feel like it’ more often then,” she panted. “If _that’s_ what comes from it.”

I chuckled, dragging my cheek across hers, smiling when she marked me back.

“I’ll keep that in mind, sweetheart,” I licked her nose, then let her go, my tail flicking at the extra sway she put in her hips. She looked over her shoulder, running a paw slowly down her side as she flashed a coy smile.

“I might even have an extra treat for you when I get back, sweetheart,” she blew me a kiss, then turned back around. “See you soon!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know, the “I want you to hunt me” thing is totally stupid and cheesy, but sometimes I just need to write junk like that. (Believe me, it made me want to hack the first time, too…)
> 
> Sarcasm- Get Scared, 2011


	17. Chapter 17

I’d just given Trevor his meds when Judy called me, sounding way less happy than when she’d left.

 _“Oh, Nick, thank God!”_ she was sniffling. _“Please, I…I need you…”_

“What happened?” I hightailed it downstairs, grabbing my keys from the rack in the kitchen. “Where are you?”

 _“I…I don’t know…I just,”_ she sniffed again. _“I-I just need you, I’m at the precinct…”_

That was all I needed to hear.

“I’ll be right there, just hang on, okay?”

She hiccuped.

_“Y-Yeah, okay…and Nick?”_

I stopped by the security hub.

“Yeah, Fluff?”

_“I…I love you…”_

I swallowed, my tail starting to twitch.

“I love you, too, sweetheart. I’ll be there soon.”

She hung up, and I shoved my phone in my pocket, then knocked on the doorframe. As usual, nothing looked wrong on the monitors, but now that was exactly what worried me.

“I have to hit the precinct,” I didn’t wait for either of the lions inside to turn around. “Think one of you could keep an ear out for Trevor until I get back?”

“I got it,” Ed pushed back from the desk. “I’ll go blind if I stare at those things any more.”

Rocco snorted, his tail flicking for a second. I rubbed the back of my neck.

“Judy just called, said that’s where she was and that she needed me.”

“Is she okay?” Ed asked. I shook my head.

“She sounded terrified, and I’d be lying if I said I knew what could scare her like that,” I glanced at my watch. “I should get going, I don’t want to leave her alone for longer than I have to.”

“I just hope Trevor’s asleep,” Ed followed me out, then shivered. “I still can’t believe what he did to Leo.”

I sighed, rubbing a paw over my eyes. I’d given Leo a couple days off after that, and he still stayed as far away from Trevor as he could.

“You and me both,” I let my paw drop. “I shouldn’t have asked you to help take him in, anyway.”

He groaned.

“Don’t start with that, we’re all sick of it,” he shoved me toward the front door. “Now get out of here and take care of your bunny.”

I rolled my eyes, then headed out, locking the door behind me. The sun was already setting when I reached the precinct, one glance around the lobby telling me almost everything I wanted to know.

“Nick!” Spots waved me over, his face as far from the crazy-happy smile as it could get. The purple lump on his desk moved when he called me, Judy peeking out from a giant handkerchief. Her eyes were red, her face fur matted with tears. I jumped to catch the edge, and she threw herself at me before I’d even finished climbing up.

“Oh, Nick…” she clung to me, sobbing into my shirt. I sat down, holding her in my lap and nuzzling the top of her head.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” I stroked her limp ears. She was shaking. “I’m here for you, it’s okay…”

I looked at Spots as she started calming down; his eyes were wet, his paws pressed to his mouth.

“What happened?”

He shook his head.

“I-I don’t know,” he glanced at Judy. “W-Wolfard came in with her about an hour ago, and none of us could get two words out of her. She wouldn’t even come out from Fangmeyer’s handkerchief to call you.”

Judy sniffled, her paws clenching on my shirt while she rooted through my neck fur.

“I-I was ambushed,” she started quietly, then hiccuped a bit. “I-I’d just finished shopping when a…a group of bucks surrounded me…”

She swallowed.

“T-They were just kids, a-and there were so many of them, I couldn’t…” she buried her face in my neck again, then shivered. “I-I didn’t have time to react before grabbed me and slammed me against the wall…”

I snarled, my arms tightening around her.

“What did they do to you?”

It took her a while to answer.

“They…t-they ripped everything away from me and threw it on the ground,” she pushed closer to me. “They started shouting at me, saying I was a disgrace to prey everywhere…b-because I was with a fox.”

She looked up at me.

“I-It got even worse when one of them mentioned it was you,” she went on. “T-Their leader said there was a special place in hell for girls like me, w-who threw themselves at ‘that sad piece of trash’…he got closer…”

I tensed, fighting the urge to these mammals down and show them what a real piece of trash looked like. But I knew if I did, I’d just be proving them right like I had with Delilah, and that was one mistake I was never going to make again.

“A-And started beating me,” she pressed her face into my chest. “I-I don’t even want to think how far it would’ve gone if Kyle and Maria hadn’t shown up…”

I held her closer as she broke down, still trying to keep my temper in check. It wouldn’t help anyone if I lost it now. I managed to rein it in enough that could ignore it, barely.

“What happened to those bucks?” I glared at Spots. “Where are they?”

He shook his head.

“They were arrested, but I’m not telling you where they are. I know how protective you are of Judy,” he went on, glancing at her. “And I do _not_ want to be responsible for their injuries. Besides, the last thing you two need is another fox and bunny fight getting in the news.”

I cringed, running a paw over the spot where I’d been nailed with that tazer. I had no idea who’d been holding the camera, but just enough of the mess had made on ZNN to make it look like I’d lost my mind and attacked an innocent rabbit. Even if he had proven to be a complete nut job that same day.

I looked at Carrots, my heart freezing as I waited for her to say that she couldn’t take it anymore, that being together wasn’t worth all the shit she’d been going through. Hell, I was on the verge of saying that myself, anything if it meant making her life easier, no matter how it made me feel.

And she was apparently a mind reader, because as soon as I finished thinking that, she punched me.

“You should know by now that I’m too stubborn to quit, Nick,” she pulled back to look at me. “I’m not about to leave you because some mammals don’t like interspecies couples, they’ll just have to learn to deal with it.”

It took a lot to hide how happy I was when she kissed me; I settled for hugging her and letting my tail wag half as fast as it wanted to. She giggled.

“You’re adorable, Slick, you know that?”

I stopped, glancing around.

“Hey, not so loud!” I smirked at her. “I don’t want anyone else knowing that, I’ve got a reputation to maintain!”

She looked at me.

“You have a reputation?”

“Oooh,” Spots giggled. “You tell him, Judy!”

I groaned, pushed her off my lap and jumped to the floor, my blood going cold when I saw what was about to go down.

“Wolfard, behind you!”

He and several others threw themselves to the floor as the bullets started flying, shattering the window and spraying the lobby with lead. It only took a few seconds for the guns to click empty, and the bear outside threw them down, almost falling into the van waiting for him at the bottom of the steps. The tires squealed as it pulled away, the sound almost echoing in the silence that followed. Pennington was the first to move, leaning over the broken glass to grab Wolfard with her trunk, wincing as she pressed a hoof to her arm.

“Good thing it was only bear-sized,” she set him down, and it didn’t take long for his legs to give out. “Still smarts, though.”

“Anyone else hit?” I looked around, sighing when almost everyone shook their heads. At least with the few who had been hit, it hadn’t been anywhere vital.

“I just radioed for medical backup,” Ben gulped. We watched as everyone else started securing the scene and helping the mammals who’d gotten nailed. “What do you think that was about, Nick?”

“I don’t know,” I climbed back on the desk. Carrots had run off to help the others. “But since it happened less than an hour after Judy was attacked, I’m guessing it wasn’t random.”

He nodded.

“And the Chief’s not here, either,” he pressed his paws to his cheeks. “He’s meeting with the mayor at City Hall.”

I scratched the back of my neck.

“That explains why he didn’t come running,” my tail frizzed as something else bit at me. “Hey, is there any way I could look at the CCTV footage? I feel like we’re missing something.”

“Sure,” he typed something on his laptop, then turned it toward me. The screen was almost as tall as I was, but that just made spotting things easier.

“Thanks,” it took a minute to find the one I needed, just left of the front door. I rewound to a few seconds after the windows had shattered, then paused it. A few clicks was all it took to start clearing the image up, and what I saw almost made me fall off the desk.

“ _No…_ ”

Standing outside, a wide, crazy smile on his face as he tried to gun down the ZPD, was a mammal I’d trusted with my life for almost six years.

“ _Max…_ ”

* * *

_All the shit that’s gone down, and I_ still _didn’t see this coming…_

I growled, still glaring at the picture on the screen. Max and Jeremy had gone up in smoke during the savage mammals case, and this was the first I’d seen of either of them since. I shoved the laptop toward Spots, my claws cutting into my paw pads as I forced myself to chill. Being pissed at Max could wait, right now I had to focus on finding where he’d gone and who the hell he was working for. Not that it took long to figure that out.

“The mammal that hired him is the same one who hired Wyatt,” I looked at him. “Count on it.”

“Hired who?” Carrots hopped on his desk, grabbed the handkerchief and wrapped herself in it again.

“Remember when Max and Jeremy cut out during the savage mammals case?” I pointed to the laptop. “Max shooting up the precinct an hour after you were attacked can’t be a coincidence, they were organized by the same mammal.”

“Okay,” she sounded unsure, and I couldn’t blame her. The most I had to go on was a gut feeling, and I was hoping it was one of those times it was dead wrong. “But why would they do all that? What’s their end goal?”

I shook my head.

“I haven’t thought that far yet,” I admitted. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if something else ends up going down in the next few days.”

She curled further under the handkerchief, hr nose starting to twitch like crazy, and I noticed how pale it was. I reached over and felt her forehead, my jaw tightening when I realized how warm it was.

“When were you going to tell me you had a fever?”

She glared at me.

“I don’t have time to be off work, Nick, especially with _what just happened_ ,” she jerked her head toward the broken window. “We’re going to need all paws and hooves on deck if we want to find Max before he kills somebody.”

“Then let me take care of it for a while,” I took her shoulders. “I know Max better than anyone, and we both know whoever he’s working for has been after me this whole time.”

I pulled back.

“So, what better way to draw them out, than to make myself the center of attention?”

Her glare got worse, but dropped off her face when she huffed.

“I’ll have to go over it with Bogo when he gets back. He’s already bent a lot of rules for you, Nick,” she added. “You’re not a cop, or an agent, you don’t even have your PI badge yet. You shouldn’t have gotten involved with the missing mammals case in the first place.”

“You’re right about all that,” I dragged a paw through my hair. “But you might not have found them without me, or figured out how it was happening. Official or not, you can’t say I haven’t been useful.”

She groaned.

“Of course you have, Slick, but that’s not the point here,” she pushed the cloth off her head. “The point is, until you pass that exam, you’re still a civilian. I shouldn’t have let you be part of the original investigation, especially now that we know you’ve been the perp’s focus from the start.”

“And wouldn’t they get suspicious if you offered yourself up out of nowhere?” Spots asked. “They could just as easily go underground as come after you.”

I hated to admit I hadn’t thought of that, but it made sense.

“And since we still don’t know who we’re dealing with, that’d probably be all it took to lose them,” I rubbed where I’d been tased again. “As much as I hate to say it, looks like we’ll wait for their next move, and hope we can follow them to whatever hole they’re using as an HQ.”

Part of me didn’t care how long that took, since this whole thing had forced me to face issues I’d kept buried for years. It had also healed a lot of scars, some of which I’d almost forgotten I’d had; I was actually feeling hopeful again, like we really did have a chance to change things. I was happier than I’d been in a long time, and I wasn’t about to give up without a fight.

“Hey, Wilde!”

I turned to Wolfard, who looked as sheepish as a wolf could without sprouting wool. I dropped to the floor, crossing my arms.

“What’s up?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, his ears bright pink.

“Could I, uh, talk to you for a minute?”

“Uh, okay,” I waved a paw. “Lead the way, I guess.”

I followed him to the bull pen, empty this time of day. He shut the door and leaned against it, my tail starting to flick as the silence dragged on.

“Listen, Nick, I wanted to apologize for giving you the cold shoulder like that,” he rubbed his neck again. “The truth is, I’ve liked Judy for months and was planning to ask her out, until you guys made your big announcement on the news.”

He dragged in a breath, then held out a paw.

“I’m sorry for acting like such a cub,” he smiled. “And I think you two are perfect together.”

“Thanks, that means a lot,” I shook it. “And I think so, too.”

His grip tightened when I tried to pull back, and he leaned over me, his teeth flashing.

“But if you ever hurt her, I’ll give it to you ten-fold.”

My eyes narrowed, and I grabbed his wrist, twisting my paw out of his grip.

“That goes double for me, tough guy,” I let go, then moved past him, pushing the door open. I looked back at him. “But we both know Judy would kick both our asses if she ever caught us fighting over her.”

He laughed.

“Ain’t that the truth.”

* * *

It was dark when Carrots and I got back to our place. She’d wanted to stay longer, but even Spots had noticed how she’d been starting to shake, and I wondered how I’d managed to miss it.

_She’s probably been taking the meds that didn’t work for Trevor._

It wouldn’t surprise me; if there was one thing that bunny was obsessed with, it was her job. She couldn’t go a day without bringing up all the cases she was going to solve, or all the kids she was going to inspire when she talked at schools. As much as I loved her dedication, it felt like I was second fiddle at times, not that I’d ever say that to her face. She was happy, and that was all I needed.

“So, what did you and Greg talk about?”

I blinked. How long had I been spaced out?

“We’ve been sitting here for ten minutes, Nick,” she smirked at me. “So, are you going to tell me what Greg had to say?”

Greg? Must be Wolfard’s first name.

“He just explained why he’s been ignoring me the last couple months,” I cut the engine, leaning back in my seat. “Turned out he had it bad for you, and was upset I got to you first.”

She blushed.

“You mean he was…jealous? Wow…” she messed with one of her ears. I looked at her.

“Don’t tell me that’s never happened before.”

“If it did, I never noticed,” she brought her knees to her chest. “I was too busy training and studying, and the few times I _did_ try never lasted long.”

She sighed.

“You probably don’t care, but I’ve never been attractive by bunny standards,” she flicked her ears forward, so they hung in her face. “I was too short until I hit puberty, then I was too tall, and thanks to my fitness regime, I’m too lean and muscular.”

She rubbed her arms, almost like she was cold.

“Then there’s the fact I keep my fur as short as I can without looking like I’m going bald, I’m the polar opposite of what a doe should be.”

She threw her head down. I reached over and traced her cheek, then tilted her chin back.

“‘Should’ be, or ‘can’ be, Fluff? You know all that’s subjective,” I unbuckled, then kissed her. “And I think you’re the most beautiful mammal I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

She stared blankly at me, then pulled her chin from my grip.

“You’re just saying that…”

“No, I’m not,” I took her paw when she tried to leave. “But if it makes you feel any better, those are all traits foxes find attractive. All you’re missing is the ‘long, fluffy tail’, as you like describing it.”

She giggled, curling up in my lap when I tugged her over the console.

“And it’s your personality that matters most, anyway,” I planted my chin between her ears. “I said before that you could be any species, and I’d feel the same way I do about you as a bunny.”

She snuggled closer to me, taking my wrists and wrapping my arms around herself.

“You have all that qualities, too, Nick, I’m surprised I don’t have to drag the vixens off by their tails.”

I couldn’t hold back a laugh, but she just sighed.

“I know I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it again at some point,” she nuzzled my chin. “But I can’t stop thinking you’ll get tired of my baggage and leave me.”

I scoffed.

“You’re not the only one here with baggage, sweetheart,” I said. “You’ve seen me at my lowest, and you’re still with me. I wouldn’t leave you if my life depended on it.”

She pulled away and stood up, looking at me.

“You promise that, Nick?”

I cupped her cheek, and kissed her.

“Of course I do, Judy, one hundred percent.”

I kissed her again, then held her close.

“Promise.”

* * *

I should’ve expected she’d end up crying again that night. I’d gotten up to hit the bathroom, thinking the place was actually kind of creepy when it was dark and empty like this. The high ceilings didn’t help, since everything tended to echo. That was how I’d caught her sniffling, and when I got back to the room, she was curled up with her face buried in her arms. Even from the hall, I could see her shaking.

“Judy?” I shut the door behind me, padded over and climbed in next to her. I put an arm around her. “You okay, sweet heart?”

She didn’t look up until I started rubbing her arm with my thumb, her eyes widening before her face scrunching up like she was trying to hold back more tears. She threw herself at me, burying her face in my chest, grabbing my fur and holding on for dear life.

“Oh, Nick…” she shuddered as I hugged her. “Y-You’re alive…”

“What do you mean?” I tilted her chin back. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

She leaned into my paw when I cupped her cheek, wiping her tears.

“I-It was late, and some noise woke me up,” she gulped. “I-I reached over, and you were…you were…”

She broke down again, and I pulled her in my lap.

“Y-You were cold,” she managed after a while. “Ice cold, a-and when I felt for a pulse…”

She just buried her face in my shoulder. I took her paw and put it on my chest, so she could feel my heart beating.

“I don’t plan on that stopping any time soon, Fluff,” I told her. “And even when it does, I’ll still be with you, just in a different way.”

She looked so broken when she stared at me, but I could see something else past it, the drive she put behind everything she did, that made her the amazing mammal she was.

“Looks like I’ll just have to do whatever I can to keep you alive, then,” she curled her fingers closer to mine. “I couldn’t live without you, Nick…”

I pulled her against me, hugging her tightly.

“You might have to someday, Judy,” I nuzzled her ear, hanging limp by my nose. “Just like I might have to live without you, because no matter how much we want to, there are some things we just can’t stop.”

I pulled back.

“But I don’t plan on dying any time soon, and you know how stubborn I can be.”

She giggled a bit, then rooted through my neck fur.

“You’re not going to put me in the ground any time soon, Slick, and even then, you better count on me fighting.”

I chuckled, then kissed her, pushing forward until I stood over her on my paws and knees. She grabbed my shoulders, wrapping her legs around my waist. I hooked a paw under her, nuzzling and licking her before I kissed her again. I sucked in a breath when she bit my lip, then trailed lower, her teeth sinking into my neck.

“Oh, God, Judy…” I groaned, pressing myself against her. “What are you doing to me?”

She moaned, dragging a paw through my chest fur.

“Nothing you don’t want me to, sweetheart,” she pushed at my sweats with her feet, her back arching when I grabbed her tail. Her breath shook, her claws dragging against my skin. “And I know you’ll never do anything I don’t want…”

I flashed a grin that showed every tooth.

“You know it, sweetheart.”

* * *

Her side of the bed was empty when I woke up again, just after dawn. My shirt from yesterday was gone, and everything else had been thrown in the basket she’d put by the dresser. I grabbed a pair of sweats and pulled them on, my ears twitching when I heard Trevor snoring down the hall. His fever had broken yesterday morning, and now he seemed to be sleeping the rest off, he’d only been up for about ten minutes since.

“Carrots?” I shivered a bit when the silence hit me, I wasn’t used to this place being so empty. It didn’t help I could barely smell her over everything else, I’d never noticed how weak her scent was compared to a pred’s. I tried to avoid the spots that creaked as I went downstairs, no point in giving her a heart attack.

_She probably doesn’t know what sleeping in is…_

I stopped when I heard shuffling, my tail puffing as I let my nerves get to me. The noise was coming from the room we used to record demos, and where we kept our instruments when we weren’t on tour. She hadn’t shown much interest since Paul had shown it to her, so what was she suddenly doing in there at five in the morning? I crept closer, my hackles raising as I picked up fresh blood. I shoved the door open, feeling like I’d been gut-punched when I saw her lying on the floor, a fresh cut on the back of her head, her whole body limp.

“Judy…” I ran over, dropped to my knees and touched her neck, breathing a sigh of relief when I felt a pulse. I looked around as I got back to my feet; the room was dark, but I could see well enough to know nothing had been taken. Nothing was broken or knocked over, either, so what the hell had happened to her? I grabbed one of the towels I used to clean my guitar and tucked it carefully around her head, hoping it would help with the bleeding.

I hissed at a sharp pain in my arm, some kind of dart that had been shot in my shoulder. I yanked it out, knowing it wouldn’t help, but I didn’t want it stuck there when whatever was in it took effect. It didn’t take long for me to start feeling like I was about to lose control, and I’m sure if I hadn’t had Judy to protect, I would have. I groaned as I dropped to all fours, my ears going back as my vision changed, the world fading out until I focused on something. A shadow lounging against the far wall, staring back at me with a wide, smug grin.

“That’s right, foxy,” I didn’t know the voice, and I picked up the chemical smell of scent-block. The growl I barely knew I was letting out deepened when they slapped a button on the wall; it triggered a silent alarm in the security hub, connected to one that would bring the cops out. I started stalking toward them, going cold at a small noise behind me.

“Nick?” Judy brushed weakly at my tail. I turned back toward her, gently holding her down when she tried to move.

“Hold still,” I took her paw. “You’ve got a head injury, sweetheart.”

She groaned, her eyes widening when she managed to peek past me.

“T-That’s who…who did this to me…”

“What?” I turned back to the, baring my teeth. I could barely keep myself in check. “Who are you? How’d you even get in here?”

They laughed.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to figure all that out for yourself,” they squeezed off another round. Judy squeaked when it hit her, already starting to thrash around in the few seconds it took to get a good grip on her, to keep her still. Her nose twitched like crazy as she stared up at me, terrified, her eyes so dilated they looked black. It took more than I thought to hold on to her; she was a lot stronger than she looked, and now that she was savage, her ‘fight or flight’ instinct was in charge. It would only take half a second for her to get away from me, and the last thing I wanted was her getting more hurt than she already was.

“Judy, please, it’s me, sweetheart,” I kept my voice low, leaning closer to her. A big risk, since she was snapping those giant rabbit teeth at me. I bared my neck, hoping she’d realize I wasn’t a threat. “It’s Nick…”

She seemed to stop, but I didn’t let up, because the next second, she was losing it again. Thrashing around as she tried to bite my paws off. And when she couldn’t get free, she let out a scream like I’d never heard, one I’d give anything to hear again when she went limp. Her breathing was weak and shallow, her heart beating so fast I could barely tell it was at all.

I moaned, shaking my head when my vision started blurring, getting dark at the edges. My whole body gave out at once, and I slumped on top of her, my chest so tight I could barely breathe. I glared at the mammal who’d shot us, barely conscious when they knelt by us, grabbing my chin and twisting my head back.

“Better enjoy this little nap, Nicky,” they threw my head down. “Because it’s going to be the best sleep you’ll have in a _long time…_ ”

* * *

I managed not to freak when I realized I was tied down this time, I was too busy trying to figure out how the hell I’d gotten there. Who the hell was that mammal, and why had they made Carrots go savage like that? Especially since both of us had ended up blacking out, anyway. Whatever that had been about, I knew it was connected to everything that had gone down the past year, and I had the feeling they still weren’t done yet.

“Yeah, doc said he should wake up any time now,” Ed’s voice, low and far off. He was standing in the far corner of the room, his mane even more messed up than usual. He groaned, rubbing a paw over his eyes. “Ugh, my head’s killing me, I can’t even figure out what happened last night.”

_Wait a second…_

That mammal had tripped the alarm, but as far as I knew, nothing had happened. Had they drugged my team, too, then hit the switch to prove some kind of point? I sat up as much as I could, thumping my tail against the bed to let him know I was awake. He glanced at me, nodded before going back to his phone.

“I’m going to fill him in on what I can, but I don’t see it going well,” he swallowed. “Keep me updated.”

He hung up and shoved it in his shirt pocket, dragging a paw trough his mane as he came over, dropping in one of the chairs by the bed. He wouldn’t keep eye contact with me.

“I don’t really know what to tell you, boss,” he started nervously. He and Rocco only called me that when they thought they’d screwed up. “Leo and I, we should’ve…”

I shook my head.

“I don’t want anyone guilt-tripping themselves,” I tugged at the restraints. “I should’ve listened when you said we should go somewhere else after Brandon showed up, I thought I could handle anything that came at us.”

I sighed and laid back, my ears twitching as he shuffled around in his seat. He gulped.

“Roc and Leo are still looking, but it’s looking like…” he finally faced me, and my heart dropped straight through the floor. I sat up again, fighting the restraints. How the hell didn’t I notice?

“Ed…where’s Judy?”

He cringed, his ears going back in his mane.

“I should’ve told you that first,” his breath shook. “Judy…she’s gone…”

It felt like I’d just been shanked. I don’t know how long passed while I stared at him, my mouth dropped open.

“W-What?” my tail thumped against the bed. “W-What do you mean, gone?”

He shook his head.

“Leo and I didn’t wake up until some time this morning,” he said. “We both had tranqs in our backs, big enough to take out polar bears. And just before that, one of the cameras went full static, so I went to take a look. When I came back, he was already out…”

He shook his head again.

“He and Roc are still searching, but it’s not looking good.”

His phone went off as he finished; he pulled it out and put it on speaker.

 _“Ed, I think we’ve got something!”_ it was Leo. _“It was taped to the back of Trevor’s bass drum, but I can’t make head or tails of it.”_

“Get a clear shot of it,” Ed told him. “Nick’s awake now, he should be able to get it.”

 _“Right,”_ there was some noise, then a few clicks. A few seconds later, Ed’s text tone went off. _“Did you get it?”_

He opened the picture.

“Yeah, we got it. Is this all you guys’ve found?”

 _“So far, but we’ll keep looking,”_ there was a muffled ‘shit!’, then the call cut off. Ed rolled his eyes, then turned his phone toward me. I took one look, and my blood froze.

_‘Rain4 Safari zorro ember vase4 Base listed forest indigo4 Open rain gray gray open base4 Yet forest north north base43 Mud rain xenia listed open zorro heat40 Rain under4 Base listed forest4 Vase ember vase indigo4 Dawn zorro mud gray4 Gray listed4 Heat vase vase4 Safari vase indigo4 Zorro open rain ember vase4 Zorro tundra zorro rain mud43 Xenia listed open vase4 Gray listed4 Gray safari rain heat4 Zorro west west indigo vase heat heat43 Forest mud zorro indigo north vase west4 Zorro mud west4 Zorro open listed mud vase40 Rain gray4 Dawn rain open open4 Yet vase4 Quest forest heat gray4 Gray safari vase4 Gray dawn listed4 Listed under4 Forest heat40 Kite vase indigo safari zorro kite heat4 Dawn vase4 Xenia zorro mud4 Vase ember vase mud4 North zorro past vase4 Zorro4 West vase zorro open42’_

Another text with a picture popped up.

_‘this was on the back, i’m not liking this!’_

“Neither am I, Leo,” I muttered. “Neither am I…”

* * *

“You sure you should be doing this?” Ed waited by the window, looking past the curtain as I changed. “You know one of us could go—”

“No,” I grabbed my shirt and yanked it on. I’d discharged myself against medical advice after the doc had said she wanted to keep me for observation. I didn’t care what happened to me, all that mattered was getting Judy back safe. I’d told Rocco what I’d need, and he hadn’t wasted any time getting it together and bringing it here. “They asked for me, and that’s exactly what they’re going to get.”

I didn’t try to hide how pissed I was. Ed shivered, his face going white when he turned to me. I’d just pulled a broken down gun from the pack Rocco had brought me.

“How’d that even…”

“There’s a lot of mammals that owe me favors,” I barely glanced at him. “I just had to call some in to make security turn their heads.”

I put it together from memory; he swallowed hard when he saw just how fast I was at it.

“With everything I’ve seen you do since this case started, I’m wondering why you bothered to hire all of us in the first place.”

I shrugged, reached in the pack and pulled out two empty mags, along with a new box of bullets. That little bet with Carrots had used up the last of what I’d had.

“I knew we wouldn’t be able to handle everything that came at us ourselves,” I started thumbing them in, I’d forgotten how much I liked the small click when they locked in place. I looked at him, flashed a ghost of a smile. “And I wanted to help out some friends.”

He and Rocco were only three years older than me, I’d met them in a park in the Rainforest District when I was twelve. They’d been walking home from school when I’d bowled into them. Tony had just gotten his license, and he’d dragged me out of the house whenever he could, so there’d be even less chance our parents would catch the twisted shit he and his friends did to me. I couldn’t remember what they’d tried that day, but I’d managed to get away, and they’d spent all afternoon chasing me. I hadn’t expected either of them to stand up for me, but once they’d seen who was after me, that was exactly what they’d done. They’d brought me home so their mom could patch me up, and we’d been friends ever since. I’d met Paul and Trevor a few weeks later, when Rocco said they had some cousins they wanted me to meet.

I shut the box and shoved it back in the bag. Ed gulped.

“Are you sure you’ll even need that?” he asked. “ We still don’t even know what’s going on here.”

I picked up the gun and slid one of the mags in, stashing the other in the inner pocket of my jacket.

“All that matters is it’s gone on for way too long,” I yanked back the slide and put it in the holster in my waistband. “It’s time someone stopped it.”

I grabbed the bag and zipped it shut, throwing it over my shoulder as I went to the door. My car was waiting for me in the parking lot, and thanks to that note, I knew exactly where I had to go.

 _Hope you’re ready for hell, you bitch,_ my claws tore the strap as my fist tightened. _Because you just made your_ last _mistake._

* * *

_“Dad, what is this place?”_

_I looked around, holding my nose. It smelled like a dumpster full of Fin’s old diapers. Dad laughed, slapping me on the back._

_“This is going to be our new headquarters, Nicky,” he waved a hoof around, I guess trying to show me how great the place was. “Because once you turn fourteen, you’re going to start training for your own private detective badge!”_

_I groaned._

_“But I don’t_ want _to be a private eye, dad,” I looked up at him. “I’ve told you and Mom, I want to be a teacher!”_

_It’d been my dream for as long as I could remember, and I was going to do whatever it took to get there. As much as he and Mom supported me, I knew they didn’t believe it could happen. ‘There’s never been a fox teacher’, that’s what everyone said, and every time I heard it just made me more determined to make it happen. He looked at me, then sighed and knelt down, putting his hooves on my shoulders._

_“Look, son,” he swallowed. “I know you want to help mammals, and your mom and I couldn’t be more proud of you for it, but…”_

_“I know,” I pulled back and crossed my arms. “You just don’t think it’s going to happen. Well, guess what?”_

_I didn’t want for him to answer._

_“They’ve said the same thing about foxes being lawyers, doctors and fire fighters,” I threw my arms down. “If the stupid world can handle all that, they can handle a fox teacher!”_

_He looked at me again, then got up and went in another room._

And just a few months after that, the dream had come crashing down. I’d closed myself off, anything to keep from feeling crushed like that again. But then I’d met Delilah, and just when I’d started feeling like my old self, she’d betrayed me, and I’d sworn I’d never be dumb enough to fall in love again.

 _And just look how well_ that _turned out._

I hadn’t been to that rundown old building since Dad had brought me, and it was in even worse shape than back then. I couldn’t pick up any scents besides mine, and whatever ones were stuck on my car. It was just as cold and empty as I remembered. I zipped my jacket and went for the door, my ears almost bleeding at the screech the hinges made when I eased it open. I pulled out the flashlight I’d swiped from the glove compartment and flipped it on, holding it on my shoulder as I made my way in. It would blind almost anyone who tried to come at me, since the creaky, rotting floor meant no one could sneak around.

_Starting to wish I’d brought a gas mask…_

I could barely see through the dust that blew up with every step, coughing whenever I breathed it in. It looked like no one had touched the place in years, and I wondered why it hadn’t been demolished yet.

 _Judy has to be here somewhere,_ I jumped back when a bunch of moths flew out from what was left of a curtain. Delilah was a lot of things, and while she loved twisting the truth, she’d never outright lied.

I pushed the last door open, my ears and stomach dropping when I saw the room was empty. There were trails in the dust on the floor: footprints and drag marks, so _something_ had happened recently, but I couldn’t get any scents besides dust, damp wood and rot. There was a scrap of paper in the middle of four circles, close enough to be from the legs of a bunny-sized chair. I snatched it, and I couldn’t stop the growl when I read what was on it.

“Damn it!”

_‘I have your little bunny, Nicolas. If you ever want to see her alive again, come to this address, unarmed and alone. It will be just the two of us. Perhaps we can even make a deal!’_

* * *

I should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy. Nothing up to this point had been straightforward, and now who knew how much times I’d lost…

I’d sprinted outside and jumped in my car, taking a closer look at the address scrawled on the back of the first note. I’d switched a few of the numbers, and going by this new code, that was exactly what they’d wanted me to do.

_‘Listed safari43 Heat listed indigo indigo base43 Mud rain xenia past base43 Yet forest gray4 Mud listed gray4 Juice forest rain gray vase4 Gray safari vase indigo vase4 Base vase gray40 Heat forest indigo vase4 Base listed forest4 Safari zorro ember vase4 Gray safari vase4 Indigo rain tundra safari gray4 Vase mud west4 Listed under4 Alien listed listed gray listed quest rain zorro43 Heat dawn vase vase gray safari west zorro gray41’_

I revved the engine and took off, using every shortcut I knew as I hightailed it to the Meadowlands. I couldn’t risk the cops stopping me, even if they were likely to give me a pass once they heard what was going down. Keeping one paw on the wheel, I pulled out my phone, slowing down just enough for me to focus on both at once. I sent the address to Trevor and my team, saying to call Bogo at Precinct One if they hadn’t heard from me or Judy by midnight. It wasn’t much of a backup plan, but it was better than nothing.

_And I don’t have time to figure something else out…_

Even with how fast I was going, it still took way too long to get there. My fur stood on end when I saw there weren’t any guards. I’d figured I’d be walking into a trap, but they could’ve made it a little less obvious. I eased the car behind an old shipping crate, checking my gun as I went for the warehouse, even I didn’t plan on drawing it unless I didn’t have a choice. Despite what a lot of mammals, and the paparazzi, think, I’ve never been a fan of them.

 _This could just be another trick,_ I slipped inside, wishing my night vision kicked in faster. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had pulled that stunt on me, but at least then, my girlfriend’s life had never been on the line. _You’ve gone too far this tine, you bitch…_

I stopped when something clicked behind me, hissing in pain as light flooded the room. I covered my eyes, my ears going flat when I heard voices: a high giggle and a low, cracked laugh. I spun toward them, and it felt like I’d just been dropped in _Tate’s_ icing pit.

“No…” I started shaking, my gut dropping through the floor when I saw the mammal sitting in a high-backed chair between them. “It _can’t_ be…”

They chuckled, and it was all I could do to keep from collapsing.

“That’s right, Nicky, it’s me.”

_‘Oh, sorry, Nicky, but not quite there yet. Sure you have the right end of Zootopia, sweetheart?’_


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the first part of Indigo Rain is officially finished! Whoo!

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My legs shaking, I stumbled forward, forgetting anyone else was in the room, staring into dark eyes I thought had closed for the last time years ago.

“It can’t be…” I stopped, barely keeping my feet under me. “H-How can this…I-I thought you were…”

Dad shook his head, then scratched a scar on his cheek. I was surprised I’d recognized him at all; he looked like he’d been living on steroids the last fifteen years, and all the scars made me think he’d lost a fight with Edward Scissorpaws.

“They told you want I wanted you to hear, son,” he explained. “I had to give you a reason to stop coming to the hospital, and what better way than me being dead?”

The chair creaked when he got up, his footsteps as quiet as ever when he came over and knelt in front of me. He put his hooves on my shoulders like he’d done all the time when I was a kid. I glared up at him, but couldn’t bring myself to shake him off. Because despite everything that’d happened, part of me had still missed him, all of them. It took everything I had not to start crying, to bury my face in shirt like I’d done as a little kit.

“I can’t believe this,” I swiped a fist across my eyes and pulled back, shoving the damn sadness in the dirt where it belonged. “I thought Tony was behind everything: targeting my fans, using the same flower he forced me to eat to make them lost their fucking minds. You even brought in Delilah and got Judy mixed up in this!”

I didn’t realize I was screaming until I’d finished, Dad staring at me like I’d just stabbed him in the gut. But then the look faded, and he actually _smiled._

“I’m not surprised you don’t understand, son,” he got up and went back to his chair. I scoffed.

“Understand what?” I demanded. “That you’ve tormented the city for months, have forced me to relive every fucked up thing you guys did to me? I almost fucking _died_ because of all this!”

I stormed closer, now wanting nothing more than to rip him apart with my own claws.

“And if that wasn’t enough, you put my friends and the girl I love in danger! Where’s Judy,” I swiped a paw through the air. “Let her go, now!”

He gave me that look again, then shook his head.

“I can’t do that, Nicky,” he said. “Not until you understand what I’ve done for you.”

He held out his hooves like he was offering something, but I didn’t have time for his games, or gave a shit about anything else he had to say. I reached behind my back and whipped out the gun, pulling back the hammer as I aimed at his head.

“Let…Judy…go,” I growled slowly, my finger tightening on the trigger. All it would take was three shots, and I could put an end to everything. I managed to smirk. “And while you’re getting her, these two morons can tell me why they got involved in all this, I’m sure it’s a hell of an interesting story.”

I turned to Tony, he’d been glowering at me since the lights had come on. He laughed, the sound dropping into a thick cough.

“I got to bust out of jail _and_ get another chance to screw with you,” he laughed again, dragging in some wheezing breaths. “Why wouldn’t I get involved?”

I rolled my eyes, knowing that was the best I’d get out of him, keeping my grip steady as I focused on my ex.

“And what about you, _sweetheart_?” I snarled. She glared at me, her fur puffed as her tail snapped in rage.

“You _dumped_ me,” she ground out. “After everything I did for that shitty band, you all know _I_ was the only reason we made it big in the first place!”

I shook my head.

“You stole from us, from me,” I started flatly. “You screwed three other guys behind my back, at least, and you did everything you could to cause as much drama as possible.”

I flashed a blank look.

“And when I caught you, you blamed me and laughed in my face, then let your little chew toys loose on me,” I smirked again. “But you didn’t look so confident when I beat their asses, even if you did try blaming me for that, too.”

She’d called the cops after running off that night, and all it had taken was the video from a street cam to clear my name.

“I stopped sleeping around when I met you, Delilah,” I went on, my voice softening. “I thought you were the girl I’d marry, but you let your greed and wanting the spotlight cloud your head, and I realized you couldn’t care for anyone but yourself.”

I glanced at my dad, my eyes narrowing when I saw he hadn’t moved an inch.

“I thought I told you to go get Judy,” I aimed at him again. “Not stay on your ass and watch the floor show.”

He chuckled, then nodded at Tony.

“You know where she is. Go with him,” he turned to Delilah. “I don’t think I have to explain what’ll happen if she’s harmed any more than it took to get her here.”

The hatred flowed off them in waves, but they still listened, going for a door behind his chair. He stared straight at me, then his eyes flicked over my shoulder. I was yanked off my feet, my gun clattering to the floor as my arms were snatched up by huge paws. I looked behind me, then gulped.

“J-Jeremy?” it couldn't be. "Max?"

They laughed.

“Not surprised it took you so long to figure out, _boss_ ,” Jeremy sneered at me. Max chuckled.

“Yeah, short stack, where did you think we’d gone?”

They held me too tight to get free, standing just out of range of any kick I could manage. Max had shown me himself what side he worked for when he'd opened fire on the ZPD, but I'd never thought Jeremy would be with them, too.

“I was hoping you’d just quit,” I told them. Preds had left their jobs all over the city, if they hadn’t just been fired first. "When did you decide to join all this?"

Max laughed again.

“The only reason we came to work for you in the first place was so we could get Daddy what he needed to start this shit,” he glared at me. “And who else could’ve screwed with the gate and cameras like that?”

I stared at them. Everything they’d done for me, all the trust I’d put in them, and it had all been a lie. My ears flicked when Jeremy snickered, but I didn’t bother trying to face him again.

“Our whole plan was to turn the city on its head, scare out all the damn prey, and build a real wall to keep their weak asses out,” his glare burned holes in the back of my head. “But thanks to you and that damn rabbit, that ain’t going to happen, though it’s going to be fun watching you two burn.”

Hearing that, seeing Judy getting eaten by flames, made me fight more than ever. I’d almost gotten free when something hit me in the side, electricity searing through me. Max had hit me with a tazer, zapped me again when I growled.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Dad got to his feet. “You two, quit screwing around and put him down, then go check the perimeter. I need to have a little talk with my son.”

They stared at him a second, then dropped me, laughing as I fell in a heap. I watched his every move as he came toward me, even kicking the gun back to me. I couldn’t believe what I saw in his eyes when he sat down across from me: guilt, regret and…was he actually _proud_ of me?

“I know your mother and I made a lot of mistakes, son,” he started, like he hadn’t just ordered his goons to break into my house and kidnap my girlfriend. “And I’ll never be able to apologize enough for that, but it’s time I told you what all of this was really about.”

I glared at him.

“You mean how you hired Judy’s psycho uncle, who almost killed me, by the way, to create a drug that makes mammals lose their minds, and how he turned it into a spiked candy to get kids involved?” I bared my teeth. “Or how you blew up her apartment just to send some kind of sick message to me?”

I growled again, then smirked as he drew back.

“I admit to trying to make mammals go savage, but it had nothing to do with trying to clear prey out of the city,” he swallowed, his ear flicking as he dragged in a breath. “I planned all of that because of you, Nicolas.”

I gaped at him. I hadn’t just heard that right, I couldn’t have!

“W-What?!”

“It’s true,” he nodded slowly. “I did this so you could be the hero I know you’re supposed to be.”

* * *

I couldn’t even begin to try wrapping my head around what the hell he’d just said. I don’t know how long I sat there with my mouth hanging open before he sighed, dragging a hoof through what was left of his mane.

“I know it’s too little, too late, but I have to apologize to you, Nick. Your mother and I didn’t want to believe Tony could do everything he did to you, and by the time we did, we’d already lost you,” his hoof dropped in his lap. “We’d let you become the mammal everyone accused you of being, and I’m so sorry for that. We should’ve done more to—”

I held out a paw, pressing my claws into the side of my head. It was spinning like crazy.

“It took a long time for me to get past all that,” I started. “And you’re right, it’s way too little, way too late. But that’s _not_ the explanation I need right now.”

I leaned forward, trying to keep my tail from flicking around. No point in letting him see how agitated I was.

“What’s all this crap about trying to make me some kind of hero?”

He actually chuckled.

“You’d already walked away from us, and I don’t blame you, it was the least we deserved,” he swallowed. “But even before then, I’d asked Silano and his family to keep an eye on you, to be there for you when we couldn’t. He told us the kind of mammal you were becoming, how you always tried to help whoever was around you, even if they didn’t accept it.”

He stopped like he expected me to say something, but I couldn’t get my mouth to work. He shoved out a breath, and kept talking.

“He told us when you decided to leave that life behind, that you’d started a band,” he chuckled again. “You always did have a thing for music.”

I’d started learning guitar when I was seven, but then I’d started going in and out of Meadowbrook, and hadn’t had a choice but to stop. I’d checked myself out of that hellhole for the last time when I’d turned eighteen, and it had taken me weeks to start playing again. A few days after my nineteenth birthday, Trevor and I had decided to start the band. The name had started as a joke, something he and Paul had started calling me after I’d protected Mercy from some thugs. I scoffed.

“So he kept tabs on me, and managed to do a better job than you two ever could,” I flashed my teeth again. “Just get to the part where you make up this stupid plan, already.”

He shook his head, smiling a bit.

“You always were impatient,” he cleared his throat. “Anyway, when that cancer landed me in the hospital, I paid the staff to tell you I was dying, since I knew that, when they pulled the plug, you wouldn’t have any reason to come back. That’s also where all of this started taking shape.”

 _About damn time,_ I thought, but kept quiet.

“At first, I was just going to make mammals sick,” he said. “But then your mother was…attacked by a…a cheetah who’d…gone savage.”

My jaw hit the floor.

“W-What…”

“You would’ve been twenty-three,” he went on, his voice thick. “It didn’t take me long to make the connection, once I’d remembered those flowers Tony had—”

“They’re called Night Howlers,” I spat. “No one ever thought to make an antidote for them, since the effects never lasted more than hour. At least, until _you_ came along.”

He cringed, and I saw almost half his teeth were missing. What the hell had he been doing to himself?

“I knew then that just making mammals sick wouldn’t be enough, big changes never come that easily,” he flashed a weak smile. “So, I found someone who not only knew them inside and out, but was able to turn them into the weapon I needed.”

“Who just so happened to be Judy’s batshit crazy uncle,” I growled back. “He tried to shoot me with the same gun he stole from her, then ended up blowing his brains out after killing his own son with it.”

He shoved out a breath.

“I’ll admit, I had no idea just how deep his hatred of predators went, I just needed his skills,” he drew back from me again. “It took some time, but he managed to develop those pellets, and later, the pills.”

He looked up, and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to see in his eyes; it was one big, clouded mess.

“ I found Delilah by chance, and when I told her what I was doing, she jumped right in, suggesting we should target fans of your band. I should’ve known she had her own motives for helping me,” he didn’t wait for an answer from me. “Tony was the same way, though I never figured out what caused him to…dislike you, as much as he did.”

I shrugged, I never could, either.

“I took care of the shots,” he went on. “Since I knew Tony would never be able to stick to the targets, and she didn’t have what it took to be a sharpshooter.”

I couldn’t believe it when I managed to laugh. I’d tried teaching her to shoot, but she’d always complained that guns were too loud, and she could never keep her paws steady enough to get a shot off.

“I was sick of so many species being treated so poorly,” he drew my attention again. “So I chose mammals randomly, the only link was they were all fans of your band, though it got more complicated once Wyatt started with those pills of his.”

I scoffed. There was the understatement of the century.

“I had no idea he’d made them until then, and even with Silano’s help, there wasn’t much I could do to try and keep them off the streets,” he swallowed again. “I wasn’t expecting you and the ZPD to join forces, or for you and Judy to become involved, but that’s besides the point. You two make an impressive team.”

I couldn’t keep from smiling.

“Yeah, she’s pretty amazing,” my tail bristled, and my smile dropped. “But you shot at her, you were less than an inch away from killing her!”

He shook his head.

“Tony was behind that one, I didn’t figure it out until it was too late to stop him,” his ear flicked again. “Same thing with Delilah and Judy’s apartment building, I should’ve kept a closer eye on them. I’m sorry.”

I didn’t say anything, waiting for him to start talking again. But he never did, so I figured his little ‘explanation’ was over with. It at least gave me a chance to start trying to wrap my head around it, how he’d managed to see it all as him actually _helping_ me somehow. When I thought I’d finally gotten a handle on processing it, I turned back to him, my gut tightening when I realized how silent it was. Why weren’t those two back with Judy by now? Just how big was this place?

“The city was founded on the idea that our classes could live together peacefully,” he spoke up. “And while it looks that way on the surface, we all know it’s not actually true.”

I hated agreeing with him, but preds and prey were still all but clawing at each other’s throats, and while I could kind of see where he was coming from, I knew there were hundreds of other ways to fix it.

But I didn’t get the chance to mention any of them.

The shot came from behind me, ripping away the top half of my dad’s head. He sat there a second before falling over, blood pumping in spurts across the floor. I could barely feel the tears starting to run down my face as I turned. Jeremy was still holding his gun out, snarling and laughing. Max was behind him, took one look at me, and hightailed it.

I didn’t even try to hold the rage back. I was on all fours, hackles raised before I even knew I started moving. The world around that white bear had faded, my ears pinned back as I stalked toward him, his gun clicking empty when I lunged at him.

* * *

He swatted me aside like a bug, throwing his gun somewhere as I staggered back to my feet. I turned on him, growling again when I saw the look on his face.

“That old grazer was losing it,” he laughed again, sidestepped me when I leapt at him. “Did he really think we’d ever play nice with our food?”

I shook my head, swiping at the blood on my snout as I got backup. I hadn’t been this deep in it since Tony had forced me to eat those flowers.

“You’re even worse than they are, you pelt,” he grabbed my jacket when I latched onto him, yanked me off and threw me at the wall. I barely heard my yelp when I landed, but I could ignore the pain as long as adrenaline pumped through me. I had to get back in control, or I’d never bring him down. “Foxes barely count as preds, anyway, but you can’t even smell meat without getting sick!”

He kicked me away when I grabbed his leg; I had to calm down, I couldn’t keep fighting like this! I managed to catch myself, sliding to a stop. My tail snapped when I snarled at him, panting through clenched teeth. He just stared at me, then cracked up.

“You really think you can hurt me, don’t you?” he stomped toward me, and I jumped back, barely staying out of reach as he kept trying to crush me. “All I have to do is step on you!”

I ducked behind my dad’s chair; it had been bolted to the floor, and he shoved it over like it had been made out of paper. I darted between his legs when he tried to snatch me again, trying not to gag when I jumped over the cooling pool of my dad’s blood. I threw myself in a roll, landing on one knee with my gun drawn. Jeremy stopped, smirking as he held up his paws.

“I know how good you are with that,” he said. “But I also know you don’t have it in you to go for the kill.”

My aim didn’t falter, but I knew he was right. Even when I’d worked for the Big family, all the firefights I’d been part of, I’d always shot to wound or disarm, never to kill. And I doubted a gun this small would do anything to him, anyway. I jumped aside when he tried to squash me again, able to stay on two feet now. It slowed me down, but putting my gun away wasn’t an option, but I was still faster than him, and a lot more agile, since I didn’t have half as much weight to lug around.

_That gives me an idea…_

“Hey, fat ass!” I smirked over my shoulder. “You’ll have to do better than that if you want to catch me!”

The taunt was pretty juvenile, but it did the job.

“You smug piece of shit!” he sped up, blind to the trap I’d set. I jumped aside at the last second, and I couldn’t keep from laughing when he slammed headfirst into the wall. His teeth were bared when he snapped toward me, and I knew it wouldn’t be that easy to trick him a second time.

“I’d ask if you want some ice for that, but I think your skull’s thick enough to absorb it,” I stepped back as he swiped at me, no longer aiming. Perfect. “Whoa whoa, no need to get testy, I’m just telling the truth!”

I took off again, noting he went slower, that his movements were jerkier. Guess that faceplant had caused some damage.

“You almost got me that time,” I shouted as I ducked his next try. “But you’re looking kind of tired, should I give you a free shot?”

It had just the effect I was looking for. He threw himself at me, slamming into the floor when I rolled off to the side. It took him longer to get up, and I figured one or two more hits would do it.

And that gave me the craziest idea I’d had all day.

He’d barely gotten to his knees when I sprinted past him, jumping off the wall and throwing myself into the side of his head. I’d seen Judy pull it before, except she’d had the ropes of a boxing ring to work with, but it had the same effect, sending him right back to the floor. He wasn’t completely out of it, but he was too dazed to chase anything, which left me with a choice to make.

I could do what I’d done in the past: tie him up with his own clothes and leave him for the cops, or do the smart thing, and put a bullet in his head. I stared at the gun in my paw, remembering how long I’d survived on the streets without killing anyone, and had still managed to gain most of that world’s fear and respect.

I looked back at what was left of my dad, one of the mammals who’d raised me, and all that anger welled up again. Because despite all the lies, everything they’d made me go through, what I’d told myself since I was ten, I didn’t hate them. I couldn’t.

_Besides, if I don’t kill him now, he’ll just keep coming after us until I do._

I thought about Judy, and Mercy, Paul and Trevor, how much they’d done for me, helped me get past things I never would have alone. They’d all promised they’d always be there for me, and no matter how far in the future it might be, I didn’t want any of them getting in more trouble because of me. I gulped, knowing there was only one thing I could do.

I held the gun to the back of Jeremy’s head, took a deep breath, and fired. I wasn’t sure it’d be enough, but right now, I didn’t have the time, or the rounds to waste. I tucked it back in the holster, then hightailed it to the door Tony and Delilah had left through. I shoved it open, easily sorting Judy’s scent from the few others, most of which I didn’t want to try figuring out. I took off, thankful I hadn’t picked up her blood, at least not yet.

 _I’m coming for you, sweetheart,_ I stumbled when my side throbbed, but I didn’t let it stop me. _Just hold on!_

* * *

_Wow, no wonder it’s taken so long…_

This place was a lot bigger than it looked from the outside, I hadn’t expected most of it to be underground. I’d followed Judy’s scent to a dead end, about to turn back when I heard voices from the other side. It only took a few seconds to find the switch, hidden behind a loose tile on the wall, slightly less grimy than the ones around it. A narrow door had opened up when I hit it, and I moved as silently as I could down the staircase: chipped gray stone that smelled like gas. Tony hadn’t been kidding when he’d said he would love watching us burn.

I strayed back from a corner when someone grunted, the pitch telling me it was Delilah.

“Grr, stop struggling, you stupid fuzzball!” she growled.

“I will when you get your filthy paws off me, you bitch!” Judy shouted, more pissed than I’d ever heard her. “You freaking cowards, you’ll never get away with this!”

A deeper voice laughed, Tony.

“We’re not trying to get away with anything, pipsqueak,” he said mockingly. “We’re just waiting for Jeremy to do his job before we drag you back up there.”

Judy growled again, crying out when one of them smacked her.

“Don’t give away too much now, Tony,” Delilah used that sickly sweet tone of hers, and it made my stomach twist to remember how much I’d liked it once. “You don’t want to ruin the surprise!”

There was some tapping, like Tony was messing with his phone.

“Huh, guess he decided to do things the hard way…”

“Do _what_ the hard way?” Judy demanded. She grunted, like she was trying to break free of something. “What the hell’s going on up there?!”

“Ooh, you know, we really _should_ show her. Tony,” Delilah giggled. “Think how much more fun it’ll be!”

He chuckled.

“I guess it couldn’t hurt,” he said. “Not us, at least.”

I risked a peek around the wall, barely enough to see him throw Judy over his shoulder. I pulled back before one of them noticed me, and ran for the stairs. The switch was in the same place on this side, and I barely let the door open enough for me to squeeze through. The front room was empty, Jeremy and my dad lying right where I’d left them, I didn’t bother wondering where Max had gone. I sat against the back of the toppled chair, hearing the door slam open behind me, my heart twisting when Judy choked on a gasp.

“W-What…”

“Easy, we took out that sad excuse of a boss,” Tony walked by without seeing me; I couldn’t keep from gagging when he stepped on one of dad’s eyes, ripped from his skull with the blast. He went stiff when he saw Jeremy, blood soaking the polar bear’s head between his ears. “What the hell?!”

“It wasn’t too hard,” I said, not moving. He spun toward me, his mouth hanging open. He took Judy off his shoulder, letting her drop to the floor. Her arms were bent in front of her, her wrists tied, her ankles bound. A rope at her knees left her legs immobile, a second keeping her arms pressed to her sides. I whistled. “Wow, you guys really are cowards, if you have to tie up a little bunny like that.”

She snickered, and I smirked back. Delilah growled next to me; I caught her fist without looking.

“You fucking liar, there’s no way you managed all this!”

I caught her other fist, keeping my face blank as I turned to her. She stopped trying to fight me, knowing as well as I did that it was pointless. “You’re way too much of a wuss!”

“Maybe when _you_ knew me,” I answered coldly, then shoved her back, not caring when she fell. “But I’ve done _plenty_ of growing up the last few years.”

I got up, Tony moving between me and Carrots.

“Like I’d just stand by and let you get to her,” he sneered at me, not paying attention to what was behind him. “I’m going to kill you, _Nicky_ , if it’s the last thing I do.”

I just stared blankly at him, reaching slowly for my gun.

“And it just might be.”

I took out his left knee, while Judy nailed a double kick to his right. He screamed as he went down, jerking forward when she planted another one on his back.

“That’s for kidnapping me, you bastard!”

“And for treating me like shit for so long,” I stepped closer, the next shot ripping through his gut. “And that was for Finnick. And this…”

I aimed at his head, smiling coldly at the terrified look on his face. Now he knew exactly how I’d felt all those years: weak, alone and helpless.

“Is for being born a Grade-A piece of shit.”

I pulled the trigger, barely flinching when some of his blood hit my face. That was already two mammals I’d killed today. I turned to Delilah, still lying on the floor where I’d left her, looking like she’d just pissed herself. I’d wanted to take her out, too, but had decided letting her live with all this on her conscious would be better.

“You want to keep living, I suggest you scram,” I jerked the gun toward Tony. “Otherwise, you’ll end up like him.”

I had to shoot at her feet to get her ass moving. She scrambled up and hightailed it, right out the damn door. I watched until I knew she was gone, then turned back to Judy, the gun slipping from my paw as I ran to her.

“Judy…” I couldn’t keep the tears back as I dropped to my knees next to her. My whole body shook as I started untying her. “I’m so sorry I got you into this, that you had to see me like that. I-I should’ve—”

She threw herself at me the second I’d finished, knocking us both to the floor. She kissed me, hard, and I returned it with everything I had.

“Oh, Nick,” she kissed me again, her tears hitting my face. “You don’t have anything to apologize for, you dumb fox, you saved me!”

She buried her face in my chest, and I sat up, keeping an arm around her. I pulled out my phone, telling Ed we were both safe, and that we’d need the cops. I dropped it in my jacket pocket and got to my feet, only to fall back down as I gasped in pain.

“Nick?” she ducked out of my grip, grabbing the paw that gripped my side. I breathed sharply, pushing myself to my feet.

“I-It’s nothing,” I grunted, biting my tongue to keep anything else back. “Just got smacked around a bit, must’ve bruised some ribs.”

“It looks worse than that,” she tugged my free paw. “Everyone should be here soon, let’s go wait outside.”

“Right,” I swiped my gun as we passed it, getting off a second shot in Jeremy’s head. My paw tightened on the grip when she stared at me. “Just want to make sure the asshole’s good and dead.”

She didn’t argue, letting me take the lead as we headed to the front; I wasn’t sure which of us groaned first when we saw it was raining. That was the problem with this district, it wasn’t regulated like the rest of the city, so there was no telling what the weather would be like.

“It could be worse,” she tried to brighten the mood. “We could be stuck in Tundra Town or Sahara Square, and at least it’s a light rain.”

“Yeah,” I leaned against the wall, holding her lightly to my chest. I smiled at her. “I honestly can’t believe you’re still with me after all this.”

She didn’t say anything, just nuzzled deeper into my shirt. I wrapped her in my jacket, doing what I could to keep her dry. We didn’t talk for a while, and I figured she was trying to process everything like I was. She looked up when we started hearing sirens, her face wet.

“Hey, Nick, I’ve been thinking,” she dragged a slow paw down my chest. “When all this is over, you want to…go somewhere?”

I cocked a brow at her.

“Go where, Fluff?”

She shrugged, tracing random lines across my shirt.

“Anywhere, I just want to get away for a while.”

I chuckled, tilting her chin back.

“That sounds perfect, sweetheart,” I leaned in to kiss her, both of us freezing at a pissed off scream. Delilah was fuming in the lot, her soaked fur bristled in rage.

“You…” she jabbed a finger at Judy, her whole arm shaking. “This is all _your_ fault! We would’ve finished this if _you_ hadn’t gotten involved!”

She ran at us, Judy shoving me back before I could think. She screamed, Delilah taking off before either of us could think to grab her. I watched her disappear into the overgrowth that surrounded this place, then looked down at Judy. The edge of her left ear was ripped and bleeding, but she didn’t seem to notice. Her eyes were as wide as plates, her paws pressed to her mouth as she stared at me.

“N-Nick…”

* * *

_“In the end, I’m realizing, I was never meant to fight on my own!”_

_I let the last notes fade out, then set the guitar on its stand. I almost never played my acoustic anymore, but Carrots had asked to play for her when we’d come back from the precinct, and I hadn’t even thought about saying no. She watched from from her spot on the window seat in there, her ears dark pink as she smiled at me. I sat next to her, loving the warmth that look sent through me._

_“You really wrote that,” she asked. “Just in case we had a big fight?”_

_I took her paw._

_“I wanted to show you just how important you are to me, sweetheart,” I said. “I almost can’t believe I was ever afraid of letting you get even half this close to me.”_

_I touched her cheek, feeling the scars under her fur, remembering the story she’d told me. She’d had every right to be scared of me, to hate me, but she hadn’t let it stop her._

_“My brave, beautiful bunny…”_

_She put a paw over mine, her blush getting darker._

_“I always wanted to help you, Nick,” she said. “From the first time I saw you, I knew there was so much more to you, and I was determined to help you show it to the world.”_

_I chuckled, and she kissed me, sighing softly as I deepened it. She was the only girl who hadn’t just tried to get me in bed with her, that didn’t laugh or agree whenever I said something because she thought it was what I wanted to hear. She didn’t hurt mammals just to get herself further ahead. She had a mind of her own and wasn’t afraid to speak out, even if it had sometimes gotten her, or both of us, in trouble._

_“Nick?” she ended it, looking up at me. “You don’t think those bucks were hired by whoever Delilah’s working with, do you?”_

_I shrugged._

_“I honestly couldn’t say, Fluff,” I smoothed a paw down her ears, limp against her back. “But with everything else that’s happened, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were.”_

_“Neither would I,” she cuddled into my chest. I kissed the top of her head._

_“We’re close to figuring this all out, though, I can feel it,” I draped my tail around her when she shivered, this room had always been the coldest in the place. “And when it’s all done, I’m taking you on one hell of a vacation.”_

_She giggled._

_“I’d like that, Slick, I really would, but,” she pushed back from me. “Do you think we could wait a bit, until things have calmed down?”_

_I thought about it, deciding she had the right idea. It would be better to see how things would finish playing out first before cutting out._

_“Sure, we can do that,” I tugged her to me, making her squeak. “But you should know that I’m going to keep you completely in suspense.”_

_She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t keep from smiling. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed me again._

_“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you, Slick,” she smiled. “I love you…”_

I tasted blood before I felt pain. I looked down, going cold when I saw the black handle of a screwdriver, sticking out of my chest, my shirt stained with blood. Judy whimpered as I fell back against the wall, tears starting to streak down her face when I flashed a weak smile.

“I-It’s not like we haven’t…been through worse,” I rasped, choking when I tried to laugh. It was already getting hard to breathe, my vision starting to blur and fade. I took the shank between my fingers, keeping it as still as I could as I slid slowly to the ground. Judy dropped to her knees next to me, reaching out for me, but powerless to help.

“Nick, please,” her voice was strained from trying to keep back the tears. Nothing would focus now, and I could feel myself starting to slip away. I coughed, leaned over the spit blood on the sidewalk, my mouth full of salt and copper. She grabbed my shoulder, doing what she could to prop me up. “T-They’re almost here, just hold on! Please!”

I tried to chuckle, but all I could do was cough. She didn’t even notice the fact her fur was matted with her own blood. My arm felt like lead when I lifted it, I wasn’t about to let go without touching her one last time.

“Judy…” I traced a claw down her cheek. She snatched my paw when it almost slipped off, holding it to her face with both of hers. I groaned, pain ripping through me when I leaned slowly forward, catching her lips with mine. I…I’m sorry…”

“No!” she broke down, I could barely feel when her grip tightened “Y-You can’t do this to me, Nick, not now! Not when we’ve finally ended all this!”

Her claws dragged across my skin.

“N-Nick, please,” she sobbed, burying her face in my palm. I forced myself to move, scraping together everything I had left to bring her closer, to kiss her one last time.

“I-I’m sorry, Judy,” I could barely whisper it. “I…love…you…”

And that was it. I couldn’t hold on anymore. I was too cold, I felt too heavy, and it was too dark. I could barely smell the blood on her lips, or feel the rain coming down on us. I slumped back against the wall, hardly able to breathe, my fingers falling from the shank as my paw dropped to my side. The last thing I heard…was her begging for me to hold on.

And then everything…

The pain…

Her crying…

It all, finally…

_Faded…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m going to take a break from this one for a while, I’ve got an awesome idea for a Halloween fic, and I’m hoping I’ll be able to get it finished in time to post it all then!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My original plan for this part was switching between different first-person points of view with each scene, namely Nick, Judy, Trevor and an unknown character. I thought just taking Trevor out would be enough to get me going again when I first got stuck, since I only had one scene actually planned from his perspective, and the rest ended up just kind of him complaining about one thing or another, but I still kept getting frustrated.   
> I thought about going back to telling the story strictly from Nick's point of view, with Unknown still making an appearance when it was important, but I decided I didn't want to be restricted like that again. Mostly because some scenes will only work from Judy's perspective, and partially because there were some "issues" with Nick not being able to narrate events he wasn't, or even couldn't be present for.   
> Rather than deal with that again, I settled on going with the style I wanted to reserve for the last story in the series: third-person omniscient. Hopefully, it means I'll be able to finish this time, because I feel guilty for leaving you all hanging as long as I have, and I really do want to get to the last installment of this crazy AU I've designed.

**~~Part II~~ **

****They’d never get tired of looking through that book, reading the plans they’d spent so long putting together, refining and perfecting. They almost couldn’t believe it was finally complete, and now all they had to do was finish gathering their supplies, it would never do to run out in the middle of things. There was no way to tell how long it would actually take, but it would be worth it, because only the very best would be good enough for her.

_Her…_

She was the only one who’d ever made them lose their cool, trip over themselves like a silly school kid with their first crush. But it was so, so much more than that; they were devoted to her, would do anything she asked them to. There was just one problem: she didn’t understand, not just yet. That was where the plans came in; finally, they were almost ready to tell her, and then everything would be perfect. They’d see the glimmering smile they’d been dreaming of, and she’d have what she’d always deserved.

They hugged the book tightly to their chest, rocking and giggling in near manic excitement. As much as they couldn’t wait to get started, they knew they would still have to wait. They took a deep breath to try and calm down, set the notebook back on its shelf, then unlocked the big drawer of their desk and pulled it out. They’d learned a long time ago to keep their supplies scattered through the house, so that anyone who did manage to stumble across a hiding place wouldn’t find everything. Even so, they still moved everything around every few days, to make sure no one ever did find one. After making sure everything was there, they shut the drawer and locked it again, then grabbed the list they’d left on top of the desk.

They’d only get some of the remaining supplies today; it took longer that way, but spacing it out made it even less likely an outsider would catch on. That only led to interruptions and further delays, and that couldn’t be allowed to happen, not when they were so close. They couldn’t risk anyone getting on the trail of their gifts, it wouldn’t do to be arrested for that which all mammals should do in the first place; it was the only way to truly show one’s feelings, to know if the one they wanted was worthy of that affection, that love. Most mammals would never be, but she was, there’d never been any doubt about that. They knew it would take time for her to realize it, since she’d lived all her life in that closed-off world with its silly little rules. She’d come to understand in time, though, once she saw the full scope of their plans.

They shut the front door and locked it behind them, unable to keep from humming as they skipped gleefully to their waiting car.

_‘We’ll be together, so soon, so soon. No need to fear, my dear, your hero’s standing right here!_

* * *

The next thing Nick knew, he was gagging, able to hear scattered echoes of muffled talking. There was the vague feeling of something being pulled from his throat, then nothing but silence again. He couldn’t even tell he’d opened his eyes some time later, since the dark blur dominating his vision took so long to come into focus. The first thing he saw was the plain white ceiling, his ears flicking to the side when he heard whispering from somewhere beside him.

“Nick?” a gray and white face leaned closer, and he lost himself in the two amethyst pools filled with relief. Pain flared through him, his stomach twisting on itself as he tried to sit up, holding his head to try and keep the world from spinning.

“J-Judy…” he grabbed her, pulling her as close as he could. “Oh, thank God…”

“Nick…” she hugged him awkwardly, burying her face in his neck. Her nose twitched, her breath catching on a small hiccup. “We’ve been so worried, y-you were asleep for almost two weeks!”

“What?” he pulled back, staring down at her. “What do you mean, asleep? What the hell happened?”

Her eyes filmed with tears, but she blinked them away, just like always.

“W-We’d just gotten out of the warehouse,” her voice shook again. “And then Delilah came out of nowhere and…”

She choked, curling closer to him.

“S-She stabbed you…in the lung, with a…” she gulped. “W-With a screwdriver…”

He went stiff, and she reached behind him, untied his hospital gown and pulled it down, so he could see for himself. The right side of his chest had been shaved, and he could feel lines of stitches when she dragged his paw down the clean white bandages. He hated the terrified look on her face when he turned back to her, and she sniffled again.

“Nick, you…you _died_ ,” she forced the word out. “Y-Your heart stopped for almost four minutes, we almost lost you!”

She broke down against his shoulder, and he laid back, his fingers twitching when he found the fresh scar on her left ear. He remembered that part clearly now, how she’d jumped in front of him to try and take the blow herself. She’d pulled one of the oversized chairs against the bed, and he figured she’d climbed in beside him every night, just to be as close as she could. He let her get comfortable as she kept crying, knowing it was likely the first time she’d really let it out. He tilted her head back when she’d calmed down, and kissed her with everything he had. She whimpered into it, her paw tightening in his fur when he licked gently at her lips, and it didn’t take her long to let him in.

“I love you, Nick,” she whispered when it ended. “T-That was the last thing you said to me…before you passed out…”

She curled back up under his chin, and the next thing he knew, he was waking up with her stretched out beside him, her ears flopped over her face. He gently brushed one behind her head, and smiled at how sweet she looked; it was hard to believe she was capable of some of the stunts he’d seen her pull, but he knew he wouldn’t want her any other way. He thought about asking what had happened to Delilah and Max once she woke up, then figured it could wait for a while. He’d come so close to losing her, he’d even died on the table, and that was without all the other shit they’d been through the past year. All he wanted right now was a quiet moment with her, even if it did have to happen while he was stuck in a hospital bed.

_This is what, the fourth or fifth time since we met?_

He chuckled, groaning softly when it caused the bandage and the stitches beneath to tug at his skin. A small moan caught his attention, and he realized Judy’s nose was twitching, her face scrunching up as she started to kick at a threat he couldn’t see.

“Nnn…” she pawed at her face, her fists curled like she was trying to ward off a blow. “Won’t win…find you…isn’t over!”

It didn’t take him long to realize what she was dreaming about, and as much as he wanted to wake her, to free her from it, he knew it was the only way she’d let herself deal with it. He pulled her closer against his side, wincing a bit as she latched on to him, burying her face in his fur.

“Give up…not now,” she whimpered. “So much…save you…”

 _Everything we’ve gone through,_ he suddenly thought. _Everything_ I’ve _put her through, and she_ still _wants to stay with me._

It wasn’t the first time he’d wondered if she were insane, but whenever he’d asked, she’d assured him she’d never leave, like he would always do for her.

_Guess there’s only one thing I can do._

He nuzzled the rim of her ear, tenderly licking the inside as she started waking up. She blinked sleepily and sat up, and he couldn’t stop thinking how pretty she was when she smiled, how lucky he was that she’d chosen him. But the happy look faded as soon as she saw the bandage on his chest.

“They found Max first,” she started quietly. “He’d parked behind the warehouse, and they caught him before he could start the van, but…”

She shivered, pressing against him.

“They found Delilah a few days after your surgery,” she went on, her voice even lower. “By that stream that runs near your house, she was already dead.”

She shook her head.

“There was an email on her phone, where she admitted she’d never wanted you, but she didn’t want anyone else to have you, either,” she dragged in a breath. “S-She blamed you for everything: her death, what happened to your family, the night howler drug, all of it!”

Her chin dropped to her chest, her ears falling over her face. It didn’t surprise him at all to hear what that bitch of a vixen had done, she’d screamed it all at him more than once during their fights. At least now, she’d never be able to hurt anyone again, and as cold as it might have sounded, that was the only reason he cared about it.

“And Nick?”

“Huh?” he looked back to her, his ears perking when she seemed even more scared than before. She sat on her knees, taking his paw in both of hers, her gaze straying anywhere but him.

“I know this is probably the worst possible time to say it,” she swallowed. “But there’s someone I _really_ need you to meet.”

Slowly, she put his paw on her stomach, his jaw dropping when he realized what he was feeling.

“Nick, I,” she swallowed again, he didn’t think she’d ever been this nervous. “I’m pregnant.”

He stared at their paws, rubbing her gently through her shirt.

“I’m going to be a dad?” he held his paw closer, then smiled up at her. “I’m going to be a dad.”

She nodded.

“Like I said, I know it’s not the best time, but I didn’t know when else I could—”

He kissed her, hard, and even the pain from his wound couldn’t keep him from getting lost in it. He was still smiling when he pulled back, knowing he looked like he’d just woken up from the most incredible dream.

“I’m going to be a dad!” he moved to kiss her again, but she leaned back, pushing at his good shoulder.

“I have to be honest with you, Nick,” she said firmly, trying to blink away the tears in her eyes. “I never really wanted kids.”

* * *

Nick couldn’t believe what he had just heard, and he was about to beg her not to say what he thought she was going to, when she held up a paw.

“Now before you tell me you hate my guts, or that I should think about what I’m saying, let me explain,” she took a deep breath, then slowly blew it out. “Whenever bunnies have a new litter, they assign an older one to help take care of the kittens. I was part of my parents’ fourth one, so it happened pretty often.”

She looked at him, her eyes full of fear.

“I grew up telling myself that, if I ever did become a police officer, I’d do whatever it took to make my life revolve around my job, because I’d already spent most of my life raising kids that weren’t mine,” she sniffled. “I was still thinking like that when we first met, Nick, since I thought you’d never care about me like I did about you. I mean, you’re this gorgeous, talented star, and I’m just one of tens of thousands of girls screaming your name and concerts and swooning over every picture I see of you.”

She laughed weakly.

“But a few days after your surgery, I started feeling really sick, and I found out I was pregnant,” she curled in on herself, like she was trying to hide from him. “It only lasts four to six weeks for rabbits, and we almost never show much, so I decided to go through the whole thing in secret. I’d put the litter up for adoption and no one who didn’t have to would ever know.”

She started crying.

“But when the doctor said we might h…have to let you go, I,” her breath caught in her throat. “I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t lose the last pieces of you I’d have!”

She broke down, burying her face in her paws. It took him a moment to process everything she’d said, and he found he couldn’t be mad at her. He brought her in his lap, hugging and nuzzling her until she calmed down.

“I know how hard all of that was to admit,” he said quietly. “Thank you for not keeping it from me.”

She looked up at him, about to say something when there was a light knock at the door, and a white llama in a doctor’s coat stepped in.

“Happy to see you awake, Mr. Wilde,” he started. “There are some tests I need to run, but it seems they can wait a few minutes. I’m afraid the more pressing issue lies with you, Ms. Hopps.”

He turned to her.

“I did want to discuss this with you in private, but its better that you both hear it. It concerns the pregnancy.”

Judy gulped, holding her stomach.

“You mean, because of how rare it is?”

He nodded gravely.

“Mixed-species conception is fairly uncommon, even with how far we’ve evolved, but as you’ve learned, it’s not impossible,” his ears fell back. “And I’m afraid there’s almost no chance you’ll be able to carry to term.”

She fell against Nick, grabbing his fur again as she buried her face in his shoulder. He hugged her tightly, but couldn’t look away from the doctor.

“What’s more likely to happen?” he couldn’t keep his voice from shaking. The other male sighed.

“Most likely, she’ll miscarry part, if not all the litter, or she’ll deliver prematurely, and one or more of the kits will have severe, possibly even multiple handicaps. There’s also a high chance of them being stillborn,” he swallowed hard, as distressed at having to deliver the news as they were to hear it. “There’s also the risk of Ms. Hopps losing her own life, which increases the closer she does come to term, mammals just aren’t designed to carry the offspring of larger species.”

Judy tensed more with each sentence, and Nick could hear the stifled sobs she was barely keeping back. He held her against him, pressing his nose to the soft fur between her ears. Her eyes were red, her nose twitching and chin trembling when she finally managed to look up.

“Please,” she begged brokenly, “T-There must be something we can do!”

Regret filled the doctor’s eyes, and he slowly shook his head.

“I’m afraid all we can do is wait and see,” he hesitated. “Unless, you were willing to consider reducing the pregnancy, or—”

“No!” she glared at him, tears running freely down her face. “I am _not_ ending this, and I won’t give up on any of them!”

“What?!” Nick gaped at her. “Judy, please, listen to yourself! You can’t be—!”

“I’ve never been _more_ serious, Nick,” she cut him off, glowering at him like he’d just whipped one of her nieces. He glanced at the doctor, who nodded understandingly, then stepped out and shut the door. Nick grabbed Judy’s shoulders, her whole body shaking as she kept crying.

“Please listen to me, sweetheart,” his voice was raw, he could barely keep it steady. “I’d give anything to see you have our kits, but not if it meant losing you in the process. I-I couldn’t…”

He choked on his own sob, then kissed her with everything he had.

“I couldn’t live without you, Judy,” he held her paws to his chest, so she could feel how hard his heart was pounding. “I love you too much to lose you.”

He stared at her, then blew out a long sigh, knowing she wouldn’t change her mind.

“But in the end, its your choice, and I’ll support you,” he wiped her tears, keeping his paw on her cheek. “Whatever you decide to do, I’ll be right there with you, one hundred percent.”

She sniffled, then hugged him.

“Thank you, Nick,” she whispered, her voice still watery. “Thank you so much.”

* * *

They finally had everything they needed to start sending the gifts, all they had to do now was finish crafting them. Each one would have its own special meaning, telling her everything that had drawn them to her. This early on, they knew there was still some risk, but they also knew it wouldn’t take her long to start accepting them. They looked over their plans for the first one, like they had a dozen times that day, their excited smile growing as they flipped reverently through the others. One thing they couldn’t be sure of was how many it would take, but she would eventually realize the mistake she’d made, and when she at last came to find them, there was no doubt they would always be together.

 _Everything will be perfect this time,_ they told themselves. _I’m sure if it._

It still hurt to think about the others, and they briefly wondered if it had been a mistake to start again so soon, but each of those failures had taught them something, and they were determined to follow every lesson. They’d taken the time to redesign every gift, making sure each one perfectly reflected her. It also hadn’t taken long to realize why things had kept falling apart, and that was simply because they hadn’t known the others well enough before they’d begun, but they’d done their research this time. They knew exactly what she liked, and what to say.

_Speaking of which…_

They reached in the bottom drawer of their desk and brought out the other notebook, where they kept the second half of each gift. Every detail had been painstakingly chosen and arranged, but looking at them now, they realized there was still more to do, as much as it physically hurt to think about.

 _It’ll take just a_ little _longer,_ they tried to settle themselves. _And I know it’ll be worth it._

They grabbed their favorite pen, a carrot one just like hers, and turned to a new page, the fading scent of the perfume they’d spritzed the book with wafting up to tickle their nose; they’d have to get more soon. It was expensive, but it helped them think, and brought out the best the words had to offer.

 _‘I let the dreams fade for so long before,’_ they sang it in their head, humming the powerful melody aloud. _‘A mystic heart, a brand new start, coming across the times evermore!’_

That wasn’t right for this gift, but they didn’t cross it out, thinking it would perfectly for a later one.

 _“Its as sweet as it comes, like a sigh on the breeze,’_ that was better, but still not quite right. What was wrong with them today? _‘Perfect though it seems, this plaything of our dreams.’_

No, that wasn’t it, either. They wracked their brain, trying hard not to get frustrated. That wouldn’t do at all now, not when they were so close.

_Wait, I’ve got it!_

They scrawled it down fast, knowing there would be time to perfect it later, when they were ready to send the first gift. But they knew they couldn’t take too much longer, not when they’d already wasted so much time. They sat back when they finished, running their fingers lightly down the page as the black ink dried. They’d have to put aside a day to work on the rest, before they switched focus to the next gift. They also still had to decide how often to send them, but they knew the perfect schedule would come to them soon, just like everything else did. All they had to do was give it time.

_‘Sweet sorrow abounds, when the soul flies alone, but then true love will shine, to guide weary hearts home!’_

Judy played with her paws, staring out the car window. Nick had spent three more days in the hospital after he’d woken up; he was still drowsy from his last dose of pain meds, and since she didn’t trust herself behind the wheel of a car right now, she’d asked Rocco to come pick them up. The ride had been silent, almost awkward so far, but she still needed time to wrap her head around everything that had happened, and what she’d told Nick.

She’d grown up telling herself she’d never have kids, that she wouldn’t even try to find a relationship, since she hadn’t wanted to let anything distract her from becoming the best cop in the city. But the last few months, and the past few weeks in particular had changed her perspective so much she barely knew where to start. It hadn’t taken long with Nick to make her realize she didn’t need to be married to the job, and thanks to girlfriends on and off the force, she’d realized she could be a mother without having to sacrifice her career. She’d just have to learn to pull back, which wasn’t nearly as terrifying as it had seemed in the academy.

She’d already dedicated most of her life to getting this job, and now that she had it, she figured maybe it was time to focus on other things. She put a paw on her stomach, thinking how late she already was; most bunnies and hares her age had already had two or three litters, and she was only about a third of the way through her first pregnancy. She’d gotten an ultrasound while Nick had been examined that morning, to see if he were ready to be discharged. It had taken twenty minutes to make the doctor, an old water deer, believe she’d really gotten pregnant by another species, and then she’d had to wait another thirty because the other doe had all but damned her to hell. It was bad enough that she wasn’t married, but the father was a predator, and a fox at that! Thankfully, the platypus that had replaced her hadn’t cared a lick, he’d been happily married to a tiger quoll for almost ten years. He’d gotten excited when Judy had told him who the father was, going on about how Nick had almost single-pawedly made it so different species could marry in the first place.

 _That must have been what Paul started telling me before my apartment blew up,_ she couldn’t believe she’d almost forgotten. It already felt like it had been a lifetime ago. She just wished she hadn’t needed to get her stomach shaved for the ultrasound.

There wasn’t as big a difference between rabbit and red fox gestation as she would have thought, and the doctor had guessed she had about four or five weeks left. He couldn’t be certain about litter size yet, since the kits’ skeletons hadn’t mineralized yet, but figured he’d be able to tell next time she came in. She’d booked the rest of the appointments before heading back to Nick’s room, coming in as he’d finished getting dressed; she’d brought a bag of his stuff with her that morning, and now he was using it as a makeshift pillow. She hadn’t had a chance to tell him any of that yet, and thought it’d be best to let him recover more before telling him just how soon he’d be a dad.

She grabbed her phone and texted her mom again, along with her favorite sisters; she’d closed herself in the nearest bathroom while Nick had checked himself out, so she’d have at least some privacy while spilling everything to her parents. They hadn’t been too happy about the fact she and Nick weren’t even engaged, but they knew what kind of mammal he was, and had promised to bring up whatever they thought might help prepare for their newest grandkids. She just hoped Nick wouldn’t have a heart attack when he saw how much that had ended up being.

She blushed as she thought back to how excited he’d been when she’d told him, her gut twisting when she remembered her life could be in danger, since she’d decided to keep the pregnancy. Nick had cared more about her wellbeing than having a family, even with how important that was to him. She looked over at him, thinking he was the most selfless mammal she’d ever known. It took him a long to let most mammals in, but once they were, they were family.

 _I wonder what the kittens will look like,_ she touched her stomach again; she still wasn’t showing much, but she knew that wouldn’t be true for long. She grabbed her phone when it buzzed beside her, seeing replies from three of her sisters. It was impossible to be close to most of her family with how big it was, but there were a few members she knew she could tell anything. Without having to worry about it being plastered across half the Tri-Burrows before the day was out.

 _Can’t believe its finaly hapening!’_ that was Jenine, her oldest littermate. _‘My baby sister’s preggo!’_

Judy was the youngest in their litter, and Jenine had treated all six of them like kids until high school. She’d never been able to have kittens, so she and her husband had adopted kids of all species, from a tiny little shrew to a massive panda bear. It was easier than adopting within one’s own species, and Judy wondered if Nick would consider it if this turned out to be their only chance to conceive.

_Why wouldn’t he? One of his best friends is a lion with a lynx for a brother._

She glanced at him again, shaking her head when she saw he was still out cold. The tear in her ear was one of the worst injuries she’d ever gotten, but Nick had taken the brunt of the attack, and in his lung, no less. That would take a lot out of a mammal even without dying on the table, not to mention all the emotional and mental stress he’d been through since the case had started. Seeing the father he’d thought had been dead for over ten years, hearing him admit to being behind the whole savage mammals fiasco from the beginning. He’d then seen that same mammal shot in the head just a few minutes later, and had killed two himself, even if they had been in self-defense. And just when they’d thought it was all finally over, Delilah had tried to kill either one, or even both of them. All that had saved him had been the vixen’s poor aim, and the fact backup had already been on the way. Judy found it amazing Nick could still function at all, even with how long he’d survived in the deep criminal world.

 _He’s a lot stronger than he gives himself credit for,_ she unbuckled and crawled carefully across the lion-sized seat, lifting her fox’s arm so she could slip underneath it. There were only ten minutes left in the drive, but she’d missed him so much the last few weeks, and she didn’t want to waste another second not cuddling with him. She nuzzled his neck, smiling as she took a deep breath filled with his scent: musky and thick, a hint of violets and a spiciness she’d never been able to place. He usually wore some kind of block to cut down the intensity, since most mammals found the full force of it overwhelming, but she couldn’t get enough. Especially now that it was always mixed with her scent. Marking was one of the most important parts of any relationship, whether it was parent and child or husband and wife, a way to carry those closest to a mammal’s heart, even when they themselves weren’t around.

“I love you so much, Nick,” she stretched up and kissed his cheek, then settled back against his side. She smiled again as his arm tightened unconsciously around her. “And no matter what happens, that will never change.”

* * *

 


End file.
